April 13th 1721
I sit next to Charlotte's crib watching her stir, I can't believe it was six months ago that she was born. I lift her up and sort her out for the day, I fancied walking to town with her for a bit so get ready to go out. I left Edward asleep in our bed with a small note that just simply read 'love you'
Although its early plenty of people are awake and setting up shop, a familiar figure walks out of one of the houses. Anne stops as soon as she spots me, she looks unsure whether to continue to where she was going or to stop and talk to me. In the end I make the first move and walk straight to her.
"How are you Anne?" she looks nervous although she needn't be
"I've been better but I've also been a damn sight worse" she looks around as if looking for a reason to leave, I realise it must be Charlotte "How is she?"
"She's good" I feel like I'm talking to a complete stranger when in truth she is one of my dearest friends "I've missed you" Charlotte lets out an aggravated squeal and I realise that one of the tears now flowing down my cheek must have hit her, its not long till Anne is crying as well. We stand in an odd hug both crying, Charlotte fidgets to remind us that she's here
"I missed you too! But after everything that happened... I suppose it hurt to see you pregnant when I had lost everything" She wipes the errant tears from her eyes so she can get a better view of my daughter "She looks like you"
"She does, would you like to?" I motion to Charlotte offering her to Anne "I always hoped you would be a part of her life" I don't know how far to go, should I tell her everything or hold back and hope not to hurt her "I never thought I could do it alone, I always thought it would have been … us four" she looks hurt but also as if she understands, I really thought if we hadn't have been captured that me and Anne would have done our best to raise our children. After she lost Jack I still thought it would be me, her and my child. I somehow still hope she would consider seeing me more "I'm sorry I wasn't there"
"There's nothing to be sorry about! It hurt me to see you pregnant, but I didn't want you to see that. Every time I went out to the tavern was because I was originally coming to talk to you! The pain of losing him was too much for me to be around others, I suppose without drinking so much I wouldn't be working there now" I had heard she was working there, but I never wanted to bring Charlotte to there and even if I went on my own I suppose I never knew what to say "I don't know if Edward told you any of that?" he had, I think back to one of our days sat at the beach he'd told me how Anne had stopped living in the manor after I left. She had wanted to go to Nassau, I don't think she grasped how bad that whole situation was. She now owned a house in the main street, Edward had charged her nothing and gained her a job at the tavern promising her ownership when the current landlord left.
"Aye, he told me everything. You came to see me at Tulum, I wanted to come back in a sense. I wanted to help you and selfishly I suppose I needed you to help me. Without Edward I honestly don't think I could have coped" I pass Charlotte over and Anne's arms immediately envelope her, perfectly supporting my daughter like she was meant to be a mother "Your the third person she hasn't cried at when they hold her! I'm guessing that means she likes you" Anne shifts her so that she sits almost on her hip.
"I'm sorry I've missed you growing up Charlotte" she's greeted by a wide smile from my daughter "But I promise I won't miss any more, I mean it" Anne rests her cheek on my daughters head and smiles fondly at me "How has Edward taken to it all?"
"Amazingly" we start walking to the docks together, Anne walks so naturally whilst holding Charlotte "I don't believe its the same man. I just can't believe he could have missed everything!" although I love seeing my daughter and her father together I always feel a wave of guilt.
Now sat outside the Tavern Anne cradles a sleeping Charlotte in her arms "You know my greatest fear" she turns to me "I always worried that Jack wasn't his only child!" I don't know why but an uneasy feeling settles over me "I have nightmares, one of them being a woman. It was before we set sail, she came up to me in the Tavern asking about Jack. She wasn't far from giving birth, I suppose I thought nothing of it until I told her he was passed out in my room. She practically ran away from me then, I guess I realise that could well have been his child god knows he slept with enough whores before meeting me, probably whilst he was with me to" I think back to when I came across Edward on a table with some whore, after Nassau fell the party as he called it then moved to here. I'd set out to find where Thatch had left to only to come across what can only be described as madness, He wasn't the worse of the lot but he definitely wasn't innocent either. Looking for a change of subject I decide to get everything sombre out of the way
"I have nightmares too, mostly woman screaming. I swear when I wake up I can still smell that prison! Still feel the cold of that floor!" nothing Edward can do or say stops them. Sometimes I get as far as standing at the gallows, waking only when I've dropped "I'm sorry you're going through them on your own" I take her hand in an attempt to comfort her, I can't imagine being in that hell alone "I think you were the only reason I made it that far, so many times I would have given up if I couldn't have told you what went through my mind. I know I wasn't but I hope you know that I'm here for you! Any time you need me. I owe you my life on more than one occasion" she squeezes my hand back and I'm grateful to have my friend back
"I saved your life? it was you who saved me by bringing me here" her eyes cloud up but she swallows back the tears "I hope with time I'll go back there"
"We will, we both have demons there and we can fight them together! It scares me to think that women are still being held there. Their children being ripped from their arms! Maybe someone should do something about it" I stare down at Charlotte "She hasn't quite gained her sea legs yet, but when she does I think we should show her Tulum!"
We continue as if nothing bad ever happened between us eventually she leaves us to start her shift, I take a slow potter back to the manor. Edward leans on the archway smiling at us both, I return his smile but something Anne says sticks in the back of my mind wasn't his only child, if I had Charlotte after just one night, how many more set of his eyes stare at their mothers?
sorry this took so long! I went for a week away with my partner to Edinburgh and stupidly didn't take my laptop :( although sitting on top of Arthur's seat and receiving a review saying this is one of someone's favourite fanfics! it made me wanna cry! love you all thank you for reviewing, favourting and following this fanfic :D