"Hello, Cotton. I'm Annabelle," she introduced herself as they worked together on the rigging. It was nearly noon now, and she had begun to feel the storm approaching. The sky was still blue, but there was a heavy weight in the air. Cotton smiled at her and she began to talk. Not about anything in particular, just things. Her topics ranged from Jack, to Elizabeth and Will, to James, to politics, to her knowledge of the noble class. Every word she spoke seemed to be absorbed by the silent man, who nodded along or shook his head when she asked a question.
Jack was watching them from the helm with a somewhat amused expression. She had hardly stopped talking since she had joined Cotton on his jobs. She caught on quickly to the goings on of the ship and was regaling Cotton with stories or comments about her life and others. He'd watched her entrance the mute man and others of the crew within earshot, though she seemed to think that Cotton was the only one listening.
Cotton himself seemed to appreciate the attention and was obviously an avid listener. Jack thought the whole thing was slightly comical, and when Will passed him, he pointed it out.
"Why does she talk so much to him?" he asked, as though Will would have all the answers. He only shrugged and looked at them for a moment.
"I think because people rarely listen to her," he said finally. He knew how irritating she found it, and apparently even before she ran away it was like that. Women in society were to be seen and not heard and she did not like it. Jack looked at him in confusion.
"Why not? She obviously has plenty to say."
"You forget propriety, Jack. Women are rarely taken seriously," he admonished. The pirate frowned and returned to the helm.
"And then, Blackbeard's body swam thrice around his ship and climbed back on board to retrieve his head and set sail again!" A hushed silence greeted her latest tale of the infamous Blackbeard.
"Do you know the one about the missing princess?" Marty asked, leaning forward. She was almost as good a story teller as Jack. He knew the story, as did most, but he wanted to know how she would tell it. She grew quiet and grinned at the men.
"Well, as I'm sure you all know, the current prince of England and Ireland is George II of the house of Windsor. He's known for his many arguments with his son and his own father, the king. Legend says that one night, under a full moon in the winter; a little girl was delivered to his door, with a note proclaiming her to be his daughter." She paused, looking at them all. "Against his want, he took the child in, and raised her. From early on, it was told she was a free spirit and often spoke out against her father and even the king! The prince's many fits of rage were turned towards her and the maid's attest to hearing him shout throughout the estate."
"Now, the girl was brought before the king when she was twelve, in order to become an official princess. Just after doing so, the king asked her what she thought of his kingdom. She answered that she was ashamed of his use of slaves and his attempts to eradicate piracy. As you can imagine, the king laughed it off as the idiocy of a young child," she said, looking around at the crew, almost all of whom had abandoned their posts. "The prince on the other hand… let's just say that his fury was unparalleled that night."
"What happened next?" Anna-Maria asked who had found herself unwillingly dragged into the story.
"Well the princess grew another two years within the confines of George's castle, no longer allowed out of it. On the night of her fourteenth year, word of a pirate raid reached the ears of the king. They ransacked London, burning it to the ground in some places. Unbeknownst to the Prince, his daughter had escaped the castle. He found her later that night on the main street of London, helping a young pirate boy of no older than ten. Now, this part is none too clear, seeing as so many think they saw different. But the way I know it, it goes that the Prince pulled her by her hair in the middle of the street, and dragged her to the closest Navy official. He demanded the man's musket and stuffed it into the young princess's hands."
The crew sat in shocked silence and even Marty was surprised. The version he'd heard was much softer. Jack had been listening from his position, but wanted to be closer. He tied a rope around the wheel and stepped down to join them all. He stood between Will and Gibbs, who were both staring at her.
"The pirate boy had been held back by two other officials and spread out, to make him a larger target. Now, the Prince turned to his daughter and told her what she had to do. 'Shoot this boy, here and now, or suffer his fate,' he proclaimed." The crew gasped. "It was no secret that he despised his daughter, thinking that her illegitimate nature would make it harder for him to take his father's place. The princess held the musket in her hands and stared at the boy for so long the spectators around them began to fear for both him and their princess. For while the Prince despised her, the townspeople did not. It was not uncommon for her to be seen playing with the towns children or helping on the docks. After moments passed, the princess threw the musket to the ground and ripped the boy from the Marines' grasps!" The crew cheered and Anna waited for it to pass. "Once she had seen the boy run to safety, she rushed back to the castle. The Prince was waiting for her," she whispered. "His fury was so pure and dark that the handmaids hid themselves in closets and guest rooms. Those of them who were closer swear that in his tirade, he laid hands on the daughter for the first time. After his anger had been spent out, he left her there, broken on the floor. When the maids helped her rise, she could barely stand," her voice grew sad and the crew looked to be mourning a loss. Jack was watching her closely, a look of utter fascination on his face.
"This is the part no one can be sure of," she began again, looking at her audience. "Some say that the Prince returned with an axe, and chopped the poor girl to pieces, and hid her in the walls," she said in a whisper. "Some say she is still in the castle to this day, wandering the halls with no escape. Some say she ran away, and became a pirate like the boy she had saved," the crew cheered at this one. "Some say she made it to all the way to the docks before being shot down. Some even say she made a deal with Davy Jones, to be free forever," she paused, ready to finish. "Some say that the Prince had beaten her to death, and that her ghost still haunts the walls of the castle and the dreams of the Prince and those who did nothing to help her."
She looked up at all of them, as if just realizing that she was speaking to more than just Cotton and Marty. "What are you all doing here? A storm's coming!" she exclaimed, standing up from her barrel and going about her work.
"Back to work you dogs!" Jack shouted, walking back to the helm. Will followed him. "Did you know she knew that story?" he asked, looking back at her.
"No. I've never heard it before. I thought I knew all her stories," he said, looking over the water.
"I imagine there's quite a lot we don't know about her," Jack commented, eyeing her like a challenge. "But I'm going to find out," he mumbled to himself as Will walked away.