By the time she was back up on deck Lucy's nerves had receded to being
merely anxious. She had realised that they were not yet far out enough for
her to be unable to jump into the water and swim back if the pirates
threatened them. Will had clearly not realised this yet and from her place
beside him Lucy could feel his body shaking. Astley as per usual was far
too stupid to realise what might happen to them. They waited for minutes
only before Jack swung himself back up on deck and began a conversation
with Gibbs. Lucy didn't know what was being said but there was a lot of
gesturing involved and the occasional stare at the three of them.
"You are all from Port Royal, I assume?" Gibbs said as the group of pirates wandered over to Will, Astley and Lucy.
"Yes." Said Astley boldly. Perhaps Lucy had been wrong about Astley. She had thought he was being stupid rather than brave but he didn't seem too put out by the way the pirates were looking at them.
"Do you. by any chance. know a Cora Smith?" the pirate named Jack asked casually.
"Yes she's my -" Astley was silenced by Will's foot connecting with his shin and he moaned in agony.
"Yes, she lives in Port Royal."
"Really? What is she like? What does she do? Does she have any children?" Jack spoke so quickly that Anna Maria and Gibbs stared at him for a moment - stunned by the clarity in his speech which was usually dripping with alcohol.
"She's married to a General with two children, Bryant and Alexandra. She seems very happy with her life." Lucy spoke up quickly to stop Astley from answering. They didn't yet know why this strange pirate was interested in Miss Cora but she didn't want to risk him cutting off her friend's head simply because he didn't like her.
"She's married?" the man whispered quietly. It almost sounded as though he had a lump in his throat but if he had he swallowed it quickly and went on with the conversation.
"Used to know her. She wasn't very nice at all." He grinned before demanding that a man named Gibbs should show Astley and Will where they could sleep and Anna Maria should help Lucy.
******
The next few days went very peacefully for the three newest pirates on board. Gibbs truly seemed to like the two boys and enjoyed their company as though they were his equals in every way and Anna Maria definitely liked having another female on board. She spent many hours telling Lucy exactly how to behave and what to do if one of the other pirates got too drunk and tried to get too close. It was during one of these conversations that Anna Maria discovered that Lucy was very talented when it came to sword fighting as a result of the endless days spent with Will fighting out their anger and frustrations. They had both become extremely good in the weeks following Lucy's mother's death. No one else had seemed to care that Lucy had been left an orphan but Will had given up weeks of blacksmith training to comfort her. Anna Maria quickly realised that it was Will and Lucy that were the closest with Astley simply being a friend to Will when he felt he needed to talk to another boy. She also swiftly established that for some unknown reason Jack was intensely interested in the three new recruits. Usually he hardly bothered to dignify the existence of any new pirates until they had proved their worth but he had taken to questioning them all, sometimes quite harshly, about life in Port Royal. Eventually Jack discovered that Lucy and Will were of humble beginnings and therefore would have almost never spoken to or indeed ever seen Cora so he disregarded them and trusted Gibbs and Anna Maria to see that they didn't make any mistakes that would perhaps cost them their lives. Although Jack did know that Lucy was Cora's servant that just served to belittle Lucy and make Cora appear even grander to Jack. He waved away her descriptions of Cora's character and instead concentrated on what Astley was saying, seeing as Astley was of noble birth and knew Cora - what Jack did not know was how well Astley knew Cora.
Anna Maria had never enjoyed her time on the Pearl so much. Although she had always liked living on board she had never had the comfort of female company before and she intended to enjoy it while it lasted. While she liked Lucy very much, Anna Maria could help but doubt how the younger girl would survive in such a harsh environment. Although Lucy had lived a much more insensitive life to that of Astley she was certainly not cut out for the life of a pirate unless she changed herself completely. She may have been poor by English standards but by the standards of a female pirate - the lowest on the food chain - Lucy was doing damned well. She was well nourished, if slightly thin, well clothed and most of all she had two friends that would do anything for her. Anna Maria had none of these luxuries. She didn't even have two true friends in the whole world. It was true that Jack would do almost anything for her. He would defend her life but she knew that if he was called to sacrifice her or his beloved ship there would be no saving her. Gibbs was good to her because he was a good man. He treated her well and he loved her in his own way but again he was too much of a follower to make a stand for her against the others. The rest of the pirates only tolerated her for the simple reason that she was an excellent sea woman. She knew the sea with every fibre of her being and they knew that they would never be able to replace her knowledge. Lucy and her friends could possibly change everything for her though. If they had the courage to demand respect for Lucy then everything could change for Anna Maria and that was something she'd been desperate for as long as she'd been on this blasted ship. Of course, she'd thought of leaving many times but she never could get up the nerve to actually do it. She loved the freedom that the Pearl gave her, working like a man and not being treated like some posh lady and although she would never admit it to anyone, least of all herself, she loved Captain Jack Sparrow. She could still remember how glad she'd been when Jack and Cora had had their final argument and Jack had dumped his wife at the nearest port he could find. That was back in the days where Anna was at her most miserable. It was just after the time where Anna and Jack had ended their relationship. It hadn't gone on long enough to be serious for either of them but during that short period Anna had discovered enough about Jack to fall for him. Not totally, of course, she was a pirate and she couldn't afford to totally fall for any man - no matter how wonderful he may be but she fell just enough to know that she couldn't live with or without him. Then he had shattered her dreams by leaving her for Cora. The terrible thing had been that he had loved Cora more than he had loved Anna. That was what she couldn't forgive Cora for and was why she had advised Cora as she had. As she sat listening to that final fight, hidden from sight, she had prayed that Cora would end things with Jack and walk off the ship. She had been so happy when Cora had left that she spent the next weeks 'enjoying' herself as much as any of the men but when she realised that Jack would never love her as he loved Cora she gave up hope.
Jack sat slumped on his bed with his head in his hands, a stance almost never seen in the pirate and not a bottle of rum to be seen. He appeared so despairing when he looked like that. Almost as though someone had just died.
"What's wrong with ye?" Anna asked, truly believing that he should be over Cora by this time.
"My bloody wife just left me!" was the terse reply.
"That was over three weeks ago Jack. This ship needs you. I need you."
"I should throw ye overboard for that. I loved Cora and that kills ye, doesn't it?" he had growled at her. It had been the first time in three weeks that he had been able to look her in the eye and Anna got the shock of her life when she realised that Jack, of all people, was disgusted by her.
That was the exact moment she had given up all hope of Jack ever loving her again. After seventeen years he had become fond of her but that was all.
"You are all from Port Royal, I assume?" Gibbs said as the group of pirates wandered over to Will, Astley and Lucy.
"Yes." Said Astley boldly. Perhaps Lucy had been wrong about Astley. She had thought he was being stupid rather than brave but he didn't seem too put out by the way the pirates were looking at them.
"Do you. by any chance. know a Cora Smith?" the pirate named Jack asked casually.
"Yes she's my -" Astley was silenced by Will's foot connecting with his shin and he moaned in agony.
"Yes, she lives in Port Royal."
"Really? What is she like? What does she do? Does she have any children?" Jack spoke so quickly that Anna Maria and Gibbs stared at him for a moment - stunned by the clarity in his speech which was usually dripping with alcohol.
"She's married to a General with two children, Bryant and Alexandra. She seems very happy with her life." Lucy spoke up quickly to stop Astley from answering. They didn't yet know why this strange pirate was interested in Miss Cora but she didn't want to risk him cutting off her friend's head simply because he didn't like her.
"She's married?" the man whispered quietly. It almost sounded as though he had a lump in his throat but if he had he swallowed it quickly and went on with the conversation.
"Used to know her. She wasn't very nice at all." He grinned before demanding that a man named Gibbs should show Astley and Will where they could sleep and Anna Maria should help Lucy.
******
The next few days went very peacefully for the three newest pirates on board. Gibbs truly seemed to like the two boys and enjoyed their company as though they were his equals in every way and Anna Maria definitely liked having another female on board. She spent many hours telling Lucy exactly how to behave and what to do if one of the other pirates got too drunk and tried to get too close. It was during one of these conversations that Anna Maria discovered that Lucy was very talented when it came to sword fighting as a result of the endless days spent with Will fighting out their anger and frustrations. They had both become extremely good in the weeks following Lucy's mother's death. No one else had seemed to care that Lucy had been left an orphan but Will had given up weeks of blacksmith training to comfort her. Anna Maria quickly realised that it was Will and Lucy that were the closest with Astley simply being a friend to Will when he felt he needed to talk to another boy. She also swiftly established that for some unknown reason Jack was intensely interested in the three new recruits. Usually he hardly bothered to dignify the existence of any new pirates until they had proved their worth but he had taken to questioning them all, sometimes quite harshly, about life in Port Royal. Eventually Jack discovered that Lucy and Will were of humble beginnings and therefore would have almost never spoken to or indeed ever seen Cora so he disregarded them and trusted Gibbs and Anna Maria to see that they didn't make any mistakes that would perhaps cost them their lives. Although Jack did know that Lucy was Cora's servant that just served to belittle Lucy and make Cora appear even grander to Jack. He waved away her descriptions of Cora's character and instead concentrated on what Astley was saying, seeing as Astley was of noble birth and knew Cora - what Jack did not know was how well Astley knew Cora.
Anna Maria had never enjoyed her time on the Pearl so much. Although she had always liked living on board she had never had the comfort of female company before and she intended to enjoy it while it lasted. While she liked Lucy very much, Anna Maria could help but doubt how the younger girl would survive in such a harsh environment. Although Lucy had lived a much more insensitive life to that of Astley she was certainly not cut out for the life of a pirate unless she changed herself completely. She may have been poor by English standards but by the standards of a female pirate - the lowest on the food chain - Lucy was doing damned well. She was well nourished, if slightly thin, well clothed and most of all she had two friends that would do anything for her. Anna Maria had none of these luxuries. She didn't even have two true friends in the whole world. It was true that Jack would do almost anything for her. He would defend her life but she knew that if he was called to sacrifice her or his beloved ship there would be no saving her. Gibbs was good to her because he was a good man. He treated her well and he loved her in his own way but again he was too much of a follower to make a stand for her against the others. The rest of the pirates only tolerated her for the simple reason that she was an excellent sea woman. She knew the sea with every fibre of her being and they knew that they would never be able to replace her knowledge. Lucy and her friends could possibly change everything for her though. If they had the courage to demand respect for Lucy then everything could change for Anna Maria and that was something she'd been desperate for as long as she'd been on this blasted ship. Of course, she'd thought of leaving many times but she never could get up the nerve to actually do it. She loved the freedom that the Pearl gave her, working like a man and not being treated like some posh lady and although she would never admit it to anyone, least of all herself, she loved Captain Jack Sparrow. She could still remember how glad she'd been when Jack and Cora had had their final argument and Jack had dumped his wife at the nearest port he could find. That was back in the days where Anna was at her most miserable. It was just after the time where Anna and Jack had ended their relationship. It hadn't gone on long enough to be serious for either of them but during that short period Anna had discovered enough about Jack to fall for him. Not totally, of course, she was a pirate and she couldn't afford to totally fall for any man - no matter how wonderful he may be but she fell just enough to know that she couldn't live with or without him. Then he had shattered her dreams by leaving her for Cora. The terrible thing had been that he had loved Cora more than he had loved Anna. That was what she couldn't forgive Cora for and was why she had advised Cora as she had. As she sat listening to that final fight, hidden from sight, she had prayed that Cora would end things with Jack and walk off the ship. She had been so happy when Cora had left that she spent the next weeks 'enjoying' herself as much as any of the men but when she realised that Jack would never love her as he loved Cora she gave up hope.
Jack sat slumped on his bed with his head in his hands, a stance almost never seen in the pirate and not a bottle of rum to be seen. He appeared so despairing when he looked like that. Almost as though someone had just died.
"What's wrong with ye?" Anna asked, truly believing that he should be over Cora by this time.
"My bloody wife just left me!" was the terse reply.
"That was over three weeks ago Jack. This ship needs you. I need you."
"I should throw ye overboard for that. I loved Cora and that kills ye, doesn't it?" he had growled at her. It had been the first time in three weeks that he had been able to look her in the eye and Anna got the shock of her life when she realised that Jack, of all people, was disgusted by her.
That was the exact moment she had given up all hope of Jack ever loving her again. After seventeen years he had become fond of her but that was all.