Anna Marie lay on her son's bed beside Armande. She was brushing his hair,
cooing him to sleep. When his eyes were closed, she spent another minute
with him. Every time she came back, she remembered how much she missed
him. And every time she would have to remind herself why she was leaving.
Even parting from him just to go into the next room was tough for her. She
walked to the doorway and turned to watch him while she turned off the
light.
"Why didn't you tell me you had a son?" Will asked. He was right in the doorway.
"Shhh!" Anna Marie pushed Will into the hallway as she closed the door to the room. "What is wrong with you? You want to wake him up?"
"You brought me here and didn't tell me you had a son?" Will asked, lowering his voice.
She brushed a curl out of her face. "For your information, I didn't tell anyone about him and I never will if you catch my drift." Will caught it and understood. Will couldn't believe she was a mother. Her image on the ship begged to differ. She did not hold herself as a mother. Maybe that's why she didn't tell anyone: she didn't want anyone treating her that way.
"You lied then. You're not a virgin."
"Obviously," she said, rolling her eyes. "Don't you know the process in getting a kid?" But she hadn't been lying. She came back to the question, contradicting herself. "Technically, I am a virgin to love."
"Hello?" Will said, beckoning to the room with the kid in it. Anna Marie just put her finger over his mouth.
"To real love. I constantly second guess myself when I think about past relationships. I always convince myself I wasn't in love. They were all just big mistakes." She stopped, amazed she was endulging him with all this information. Will didn't see this as affecting his image of her. Will only thought about it as how true it was to himself. Was he a virgin to love? Was he kidding himself into thinking he was in love? When he thought about it, his relationship with Elizabeth was more infatuation than anything else.
"There are people downstairs waiting to talk to you," Will said distractedly. "I guess that's why you dressed up." Anna Marie knew who was waiting for her but she was frustrated that she had just told Will something she would never have told anyone else and he sent her off to another room. Will wasn't exactly being sensitive. He needed time to think about things. He stupidly thought more time would actually make things less confusing.
"Yeah. If I appear as a wife to some wealthy man and my instructions come from my 'husband,' then they are more likely to follow them. We can't have a division in this war." At the mention of war, Will looked up, realizing the dangerous circumstances she was putting herself into. "That and for my son. Some people mean more to one person than they do to an entire crowd," Anna Marie replied. She left Will in the hallway in front of her son's door. She was sick of talking to him and she did need to finish some business.
After a few hours, Anna Marie was escorting the men out. They were from the underground assault, no longer slaves but without enough social status to receive respect. When Anna Marie shut the door and turned around, she found Will was behind her the entire time they were leaving.
"You have a son," he said, as if he still couldn't fathom the idea.
"Go ahead. Run away now. That's what I figured out of you," Anna Marie huffed. "There's the door you coward." She left the foyer and went into her own room. When she found Will had followed her, she went on. "Go ahead. Deny that you had any feelings for me. You can't make me forget how you looked at me right before you found out. Even I'll admit that my eyes probably looked the same." The whole time, Anna Marie did not look at Will. She couldn't. "I tell you all this shit about myself and what do you do? You shuffle me off to talk about a way that I could get killed." By now, she had taken down her hair and it fell around her shoulders. She turned to Will, tears brimming in her eyes but still acting like she hated the world. "Go on, leave!"
"I don't want to leave," he said softly. The gentleness of his behavior was too much for her so she turned around and sat on the bed, undoing her shoes. "You're accent, it's gone."
"The pirate one?" she asked. "I can turn it on and off. I have to living in a place like this. I need to act as if I belong. Besides, I don't think my son should be privied to such foul language."
"How do you live here? You're a pirate searching the seas for treasure."
"Pirates don't adopt the lifestyle for treasure alone. Some do but not all. Some do it for the freedom of the seas, Jack for one." She was now unashamedly taking off her pantyhose from beneath her skirt, somehow only showing her calves. "A blind man owns this place. My family had been slaves to his family but when the rest of his family died, we had convinced him we were another long-lost part of his family. He was blind after all. He is old though and once he dies, we will be sold as slaves, unless things change."
"You know that you could get killed planning this thing and yet you still do it. You're even a leader in it, aren't you?" She didn't say anything. "And you have a child to worry about on top of that. That's amazingly brave of you. I don't think I've seen anyone else that would do that. If it weren't for your cause, I'd just say you were one of the ballsiest pirates I've seen."
Anna Marie laughed at rolled her eyes. She couldn't help but notice the respect coming from Will. That's what she liked about him. He was too naïve to be anything but sincere so she knew the respect was truthful. But this respect was something new. She had never gotten this before. Yet she pushed him away again.
"You can stay here tonight but you should go back to the ship. I don't want anyone thinking you're involved in this," she said.
He shook his head. "I can help you, another white face to ease any neighbors' suspicions." He took a step toward her. He couldn't help but want to get closer to her every time she pushed away. It was like wanting something he couldn't have or curiosity. "What kind of crowd are you getting into that you don't want them to see my face?" The tone in his voice showed his worry.
"The same type of crowd you need to have a god crew on a pirate ship. I have no choice in the matter of who I meet in this. We need any help we can get." Anna Marie had gotten up and looked out the window before closing the shutters. Will had gotten closer. What was he doing? He would have been clear embarrassed to even be in Elizabeth's room but Anna Marie made it comfortable to be anywhere near her.
When she turned around she jumped at seeing how close he was to her. When she looked up, she saw the same look he had in his eyes in front of the house. So the child didn't matter. He took a lock of her hair in his hand, rubbing it between his fingers. Black instead of Elizabeth's blonde hair and courser, thicker than Elizabeth's own. Anna Marie moved her head closer, catching his eye and making him look up at her face. Brown eyes instead of blue, dark skin instead of pale.
"Will, what's the matter?" she asked. This was Anna Marie, a totally new experience and he had not had many. What if. He took another step forward and uncomfortably stood there for a second, not sure what to do. Anna Marie grabbed his arm, initializing what she knew he wanted to do. He tilted his head and kissed her. Anna Marie's tongue opened his mouth and he lowered his hand to hold her closer. The kiss was gentler than Anna Marie had ever experienced, timid.
She pulled away. She knew why he was timid; Elizabeth was still prancing around in his head. She brought her hand to her mouth and then said, "Your room's right next door. I'm sure you can find your way." Will looked at her strangely. Everything she did surprised him. He knew there was something pulling her to him and vice versa. She had brought him to her home and shown her something she never had shown anyone else. Why was she still pushing away? Was it a game?
"Anna Marie," he said as he raised his hand to her jaw. She looked up. She was scared; he could see it in her eyes. "I think I love you." This froze her but not enough to react to the kiss that he planted on her again. Her hands went through his hair, showing she wanted this, but her body leaned back, trying to skulk out of the embrace. Finally, Will let go and Anna Marie fell onto the bed. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Okay, so what should happen now? I'm waiting for your reviews. ;)
"Why didn't you tell me you had a son?" Will asked. He was right in the doorway.
"Shhh!" Anna Marie pushed Will into the hallway as she closed the door to the room. "What is wrong with you? You want to wake him up?"
"You brought me here and didn't tell me you had a son?" Will asked, lowering his voice.
She brushed a curl out of her face. "For your information, I didn't tell anyone about him and I never will if you catch my drift." Will caught it and understood. Will couldn't believe she was a mother. Her image on the ship begged to differ. She did not hold herself as a mother. Maybe that's why she didn't tell anyone: she didn't want anyone treating her that way.
"You lied then. You're not a virgin."
"Obviously," she said, rolling her eyes. "Don't you know the process in getting a kid?" But she hadn't been lying. She came back to the question, contradicting herself. "Technically, I am a virgin to love."
"Hello?" Will said, beckoning to the room with the kid in it. Anna Marie just put her finger over his mouth.
"To real love. I constantly second guess myself when I think about past relationships. I always convince myself I wasn't in love. They were all just big mistakes." She stopped, amazed she was endulging him with all this information. Will didn't see this as affecting his image of her. Will only thought about it as how true it was to himself. Was he a virgin to love? Was he kidding himself into thinking he was in love? When he thought about it, his relationship with Elizabeth was more infatuation than anything else.
"There are people downstairs waiting to talk to you," Will said distractedly. "I guess that's why you dressed up." Anna Marie knew who was waiting for her but she was frustrated that she had just told Will something she would never have told anyone else and he sent her off to another room. Will wasn't exactly being sensitive. He needed time to think about things. He stupidly thought more time would actually make things less confusing.
"Yeah. If I appear as a wife to some wealthy man and my instructions come from my 'husband,' then they are more likely to follow them. We can't have a division in this war." At the mention of war, Will looked up, realizing the dangerous circumstances she was putting herself into. "That and for my son. Some people mean more to one person than they do to an entire crowd," Anna Marie replied. She left Will in the hallway in front of her son's door. She was sick of talking to him and she did need to finish some business.
After a few hours, Anna Marie was escorting the men out. They were from the underground assault, no longer slaves but without enough social status to receive respect. When Anna Marie shut the door and turned around, she found Will was behind her the entire time they were leaving.
"You have a son," he said, as if he still couldn't fathom the idea.
"Go ahead. Run away now. That's what I figured out of you," Anna Marie huffed. "There's the door you coward." She left the foyer and went into her own room. When she found Will had followed her, she went on. "Go ahead. Deny that you had any feelings for me. You can't make me forget how you looked at me right before you found out. Even I'll admit that my eyes probably looked the same." The whole time, Anna Marie did not look at Will. She couldn't. "I tell you all this shit about myself and what do you do? You shuffle me off to talk about a way that I could get killed." By now, she had taken down her hair and it fell around her shoulders. She turned to Will, tears brimming in her eyes but still acting like she hated the world. "Go on, leave!"
"I don't want to leave," he said softly. The gentleness of his behavior was too much for her so she turned around and sat on the bed, undoing her shoes. "You're accent, it's gone."
"The pirate one?" she asked. "I can turn it on and off. I have to living in a place like this. I need to act as if I belong. Besides, I don't think my son should be privied to such foul language."
"How do you live here? You're a pirate searching the seas for treasure."
"Pirates don't adopt the lifestyle for treasure alone. Some do but not all. Some do it for the freedom of the seas, Jack for one." She was now unashamedly taking off her pantyhose from beneath her skirt, somehow only showing her calves. "A blind man owns this place. My family had been slaves to his family but when the rest of his family died, we had convinced him we were another long-lost part of his family. He was blind after all. He is old though and once he dies, we will be sold as slaves, unless things change."
"You know that you could get killed planning this thing and yet you still do it. You're even a leader in it, aren't you?" She didn't say anything. "And you have a child to worry about on top of that. That's amazingly brave of you. I don't think I've seen anyone else that would do that. If it weren't for your cause, I'd just say you were one of the ballsiest pirates I've seen."
Anna Marie laughed at rolled her eyes. She couldn't help but notice the respect coming from Will. That's what she liked about him. He was too naïve to be anything but sincere so she knew the respect was truthful. But this respect was something new. She had never gotten this before. Yet she pushed him away again.
"You can stay here tonight but you should go back to the ship. I don't want anyone thinking you're involved in this," she said.
He shook his head. "I can help you, another white face to ease any neighbors' suspicions." He took a step toward her. He couldn't help but want to get closer to her every time she pushed away. It was like wanting something he couldn't have or curiosity. "What kind of crowd are you getting into that you don't want them to see my face?" The tone in his voice showed his worry.
"The same type of crowd you need to have a god crew on a pirate ship. I have no choice in the matter of who I meet in this. We need any help we can get." Anna Marie had gotten up and looked out the window before closing the shutters. Will had gotten closer. What was he doing? He would have been clear embarrassed to even be in Elizabeth's room but Anna Marie made it comfortable to be anywhere near her.
When she turned around she jumped at seeing how close he was to her. When she looked up, she saw the same look he had in his eyes in front of the house. So the child didn't matter. He took a lock of her hair in his hand, rubbing it between his fingers. Black instead of Elizabeth's blonde hair and courser, thicker than Elizabeth's own. Anna Marie moved her head closer, catching his eye and making him look up at her face. Brown eyes instead of blue, dark skin instead of pale.
"Will, what's the matter?" she asked. This was Anna Marie, a totally new experience and he had not had many. What if. He took another step forward and uncomfortably stood there for a second, not sure what to do. Anna Marie grabbed his arm, initializing what she knew he wanted to do. He tilted his head and kissed her. Anna Marie's tongue opened his mouth and he lowered his hand to hold her closer. The kiss was gentler than Anna Marie had ever experienced, timid.
She pulled away. She knew why he was timid; Elizabeth was still prancing around in his head. She brought her hand to her mouth and then said, "Your room's right next door. I'm sure you can find your way." Will looked at her strangely. Everything she did surprised him. He knew there was something pulling her to him and vice versa. She had brought him to her home and shown her something she never had shown anyone else. Why was she still pushing away? Was it a game?
"Anna Marie," he said as he raised his hand to her jaw. She looked up. She was scared; he could see it in her eyes. "I think I love you." This froze her but not enough to react to the kiss that he planted on her again. Her hands went through his hair, showing she wanted this, but her body leaned back, trying to skulk out of the embrace. Finally, Will let go and Anna Marie fell onto the bed. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Okay, so what should happen now? I'm waiting for your reviews. ;)