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Chapter 14: Fears and Clues
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Anamaria came back to consciousness recognizing the smell of the sea. She lay very still and did not open her eyes as she listened to the sounds around her. She became slowly aware of voices, harsh men's voices, and the sounds of water. She realized that she was also moving and felt cool wood against her cheek. Ana opened her eyes the tiniest crack; everything was dark around her. She squeezed her eyes shut again. Where was she?
She heard a man's voice clearly somewhere above her say something sharply, and Ana was hit by a flash of panicked recognition within her. Evans! She felt her heart sink. She was with Evans, which must mean that Evans had taken her hostage and was returning her for the bounty that he was searching. Not good.
Jack! Her mind screamed at her, what had happened to Jack? He had been there, on deck fighting someone. In his condition! Ana thought angrily. And Elizabeth, had she been hurt badly?
The boat jerked to a stop on an unmoving surface and from experience, Ana's brain registered that they had come ashore.
Something hard swung swung into Ana's ribs and, forgetting to keep the pretense of being unconscious, her eyes flew open and she groaned. "Well, well," Evans' nasty voice hissed in her ear, "Our little pirate princess is finally awake."
Ana's eyes could only see his outline in the darkness. She growled at him, meaning to lash out and not able to, due to the harsh rope digging into her wrists. Evans chuckled at her, and stood up, grabbing the rope binding her wrists and pulling her off the boat and onto the sandy shore. Ana fought against him, beginning to shout into the night, digging her heels into the soft sand, knowing that wherever he was taking her was far worse than where she was now.
Evans grunted at her, and motioned behind her and Ana suddenly realized there was another man with him, the one who had grabbed her aboard the Incorrigible. The man reached out and slipped a gag into her mouth. Ana continued to struggled against him and Evans let out a frustrated growl. He drew his hand back and caught her jawbone with his fist. Ana's eyes streamed with tears, and she was unable to struggle as he dragged her along the dark beach towards the jungle and what horrors, she did not know.
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Day 11, Daybreak.
Jack Sparrow teetered towards the Pearl's railing, his spyglass pressed against his eye as he scanned the shoreline and gripped the railing hard to steady himself. He felt a presence behind him and acknowledged it begrudgingly, not turning around and not caring who it was, "I'm not bloody going back to bed so ye can stop tryin,'" he muttered.
"I must assure you it would be for the best, Captain Sparrow."
Jack turned to face Commodore Norrington's tranquil countenance. Jack leaned heavily against the rail, cocking his head curiously at the man. "Why are ye here, mate? I heard the story earlier about gettin' Evans and the slave ship and that bit, and maybe it's a reason. But what are ye really doin' here?"
Commodore Norrington shook his head. ""I have a duty to protect all the crown's subjects," he smiled slightly at the pale pirate captain, "And you, sir, and especially your lady are the crown's subjects." At the captain's pointed look, he went on. "I explained earlier that I detest slavery," he grinned somewhat ironically, "And I find Miss Anamaria's concern and emotion over your well-being to be most touching."
Jack smiled wryly at him. "First mates are like that; the good ones, at least."
"I wouldn't call it just a first mate's concern. You're a lucky man, Captain Sparrow, and I am most envious of you."
Jack's expression was unreadable, "Envious of me, Commodore? Now I'm flattered."
"Do call me James," he requested somewhat reluctantly and straightened up, touching his hand to his hat and squinting up at the sun growing higher in the sky. "I suppose I'd best rouse the sailors; we should be getting an early start." James tipped his hat to Jack politely and left the pirate captain standing there somewhat bewildered.
"That's interesting," he murmured, his gold teeth glinting in the early morning sunlight in his first real grin in a while. Ana's concern and emotion? Were they discussing the same fiery pirate woman who usually wouldn't let a man so much as touch her? Thinking back on the events of the days, Jack let himself accept that it was possible that she could have similar feelings that he did. He removed the silver band he wore on his right hand and turned it over thoughtfully in his fingers, tracing the engraved "A" lightly.
"That's very interesting," he whispered to the ocean, his gold teeth glinting in the early morning sunlight.
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With Commodore Norrington's troops plus the Pearl's crew, they searched the entire shoreline carefully.
"Jack! Commodore!" Will yelled after several minutes. Gibbs had forced the Captain to stay put in a chair and not search for himself in fear of aggravating his injuries or causing his slight fever to appear. Jack tried to get up, only to have Gibbs push him back down. Jack glared at his quartermaster and pouted at him, but did not make another attempt to rise, seeing the commodore was already looking at what the boy had found.
It was a boat, shoved up onto the beach and almost hidden by several bushes. The commodore traced in the sand the way the boat had been pulled ashore and dragged to its location. James pointed at beside the boat several tracks leading away from it. There was one pair that was rough and appeared to have been pulled alongside another. Will traced them with his hand. "Anamaria," he whispered.
Jack saw the look on Will's face and her name cross his lips and rose unsteadily, shoving Gibbs' hands away from him. He moved stiffly over to where the men stood, taking in the small wooden boat and the tracks in the sand. "They go into the jungle," he muttered.
James and Will looked at him. Jack met each of their eyes seriously, tapping his head with his index finger, "I've used this path 'afore. It goes straight into Wittenburg center."
"There's no way to intercept them," James mused thoughtfully, "So we'll have to go straight to the harbor and cut into the square from there."
The pirate captain, the commodore, and the blacksmith looked at each other, an unspoken question lying between them: would they find Anamaria in time? In time for what, neither man knew exactly. And what would happen if they did find her?
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"Bloody pirates," Jack grumbled, annoyed. His entire blasted crew had ganged up against him, Gibbs leadin' the lot of 'em, to force him back into bed and rest. Jack's head hit the pillow, and despite his protesting, he sighed in relief and closed his eyes as the throbbing pain in his head eased.
Someone knocked at the door. Jack opened one eye, his expression betraying his annoyance at being interrupted. "Come in!" he yelled reluctantly, not moving from his position with his back to the door.
Will came in wordlessly without bothering to shut the door. He sat in a straight-backed chair and put his face in his hands, and blurted out what he had been thinking since they had given the order to hasten to Wittenburg, "I don't have a good feeling about this, Jack. Too much can go wrong."
Jack carefully rolled to his other side, wincing as each scabbed-over cut rubbed against the bandages and his coarse shirt. He regarded at the young man with wide, serious eyes, every hint of his usual smirk and good spirits nonexistent. The pirate tilted his head to the side in observation, "Is this what ye said when they were comin' to rescue me?"
Will blinked, a frown puckering his forehead, "No," he said slowly.
"Then I don't see no difference, mate," Jack told the boy, his eyes narrowing thoughtfully.
Will still looked rather puzzled. Jack sighed and carefully rolled back onto his back, finding that that was the most comfortable position and raised his hand above him to gesture lazily with it. "When I was caught, ye and everyone else on this bloody crew, led by Anamaria mind you, didn't know what those buggers were doin' to me and hastened to me rescue, aye?" The blacksmith nodded, his eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "The problem is, mate, I can imagine what they're doin' to Ana and now I'm the one who's hastenin' to her rescue, savvy?"
"I understand that, but Jack, we don't even know where to begin looking," Will told him as if he was speaking to a simpleton.
"Ye forget lad, I'm Captain Jack Sparrow," Jack said grandly. Will shook his head in disbelief, as if to ask himself why this pirate never seemed to understand that unfortunate and terrible things happened to everyone, even Captain Jack Sparrow. Jack caught his look, his hand fell to his head, and he heaved a sigh, "And we promised each other she wouldn't go back. I promised her, mate. I don't break me promises."
Will watched the pirate captain, remembering the words he had exchanged with Anamaria only a day before. It seemed as if another lifetime. He became aware of a shadow across the midday sun in the doorway. His fiancé glided inside, sinking to sit on the floor beside Jack's bed, obviously having heard the words the captain had uttered.
"You know, Jack," Elizabeth said with a sigh, a wry smile present on her lips, "It got a little out of hand yesterday when she accused Norrington and me of not hurrying enough to her liking to your rescue." Elizabeth brought her hand to her cheek in remembrance and said in almost awe, "She actually slapped me."
Jack's somber expression took on that of pride and a smile graced his lips as he stared beyond the girl at nothing. "That's me girl."
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AN: Ugh, couldn't write as much as I wanted to-damn midyears are a waste of life. But, I will try to think up another chapter quite soon! We'll be hearing more about Ana next time, I can guarantee that m'dears.
Chapter 14: Fears and Clues
___________________
Anamaria came back to consciousness recognizing the smell of the sea. She lay very still and did not open her eyes as she listened to the sounds around her. She became slowly aware of voices, harsh men's voices, and the sounds of water. She realized that she was also moving and felt cool wood against her cheek. Ana opened her eyes the tiniest crack; everything was dark around her. She squeezed her eyes shut again. Where was she?
She heard a man's voice clearly somewhere above her say something sharply, and Ana was hit by a flash of panicked recognition within her. Evans! She felt her heart sink. She was with Evans, which must mean that Evans had taken her hostage and was returning her for the bounty that he was searching. Not good.
Jack! Her mind screamed at her, what had happened to Jack? He had been there, on deck fighting someone. In his condition! Ana thought angrily. And Elizabeth, had she been hurt badly?
The boat jerked to a stop on an unmoving surface and from experience, Ana's brain registered that they had come ashore.
Something hard swung swung into Ana's ribs and, forgetting to keep the pretense of being unconscious, her eyes flew open and she groaned. "Well, well," Evans' nasty voice hissed in her ear, "Our little pirate princess is finally awake."
Ana's eyes could only see his outline in the darkness. She growled at him, meaning to lash out and not able to, due to the harsh rope digging into her wrists. Evans chuckled at her, and stood up, grabbing the rope binding her wrists and pulling her off the boat and onto the sandy shore. Ana fought against him, beginning to shout into the night, digging her heels into the soft sand, knowing that wherever he was taking her was far worse than where she was now.
Evans grunted at her, and motioned behind her and Ana suddenly realized there was another man with him, the one who had grabbed her aboard the Incorrigible. The man reached out and slipped a gag into her mouth. Ana continued to struggled against him and Evans let out a frustrated growl. He drew his hand back and caught her jawbone with his fist. Ana's eyes streamed with tears, and she was unable to struggle as he dragged her along the dark beach towards the jungle and what horrors, she did not know.
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Day 11, Daybreak.
Jack Sparrow teetered towards the Pearl's railing, his spyglass pressed against his eye as he scanned the shoreline and gripped the railing hard to steady himself. He felt a presence behind him and acknowledged it begrudgingly, not turning around and not caring who it was, "I'm not bloody going back to bed so ye can stop tryin,'" he muttered.
"I must assure you it would be for the best, Captain Sparrow."
Jack turned to face Commodore Norrington's tranquil countenance. Jack leaned heavily against the rail, cocking his head curiously at the man. "Why are ye here, mate? I heard the story earlier about gettin' Evans and the slave ship and that bit, and maybe it's a reason. But what are ye really doin' here?"
Commodore Norrington shook his head. ""I have a duty to protect all the crown's subjects," he smiled slightly at the pale pirate captain, "And you, sir, and especially your lady are the crown's subjects." At the captain's pointed look, he went on. "I explained earlier that I detest slavery," he grinned somewhat ironically, "And I find Miss Anamaria's concern and emotion over your well-being to be most touching."
Jack smiled wryly at him. "First mates are like that; the good ones, at least."
"I wouldn't call it just a first mate's concern. You're a lucky man, Captain Sparrow, and I am most envious of you."
Jack's expression was unreadable, "Envious of me, Commodore? Now I'm flattered."
"Do call me James," he requested somewhat reluctantly and straightened up, touching his hand to his hat and squinting up at the sun growing higher in the sky. "I suppose I'd best rouse the sailors; we should be getting an early start." James tipped his hat to Jack politely and left the pirate captain standing there somewhat bewildered.
"That's interesting," he murmured, his gold teeth glinting in the early morning sunlight in his first real grin in a while. Ana's concern and emotion? Were they discussing the same fiery pirate woman who usually wouldn't let a man so much as touch her? Thinking back on the events of the days, Jack let himself accept that it was possible that she could have similar feelings that he did. He removed the silver band he wore on his right hand and turned it over thoughtfully in his fingers, tracing the engraved "A" lightly.
"That's very interesting," he whispered to the ocean, his gold teeth glinting in the early morning sunlight.
______________________
With Commodore Norrington's troops plus the Pearl's crew, they searched the entire shoreline carefully.
"Jack! Commodore!" Will yelled after several minutes. Gibbs had forced the Captain to stay put in a chair and not search for himself in fear of aggravating his injuries or causing his slight fever to appear. Jack tried to get up, only to have Gibbs push him back down. Jack glared at his quartermaster and pouted at him, but did not make another attempt to rise, seeing the commodore was already looking at what the boy had found.
It was a boat, shoved up onto the beach and almost hidden by several bushes. The commodore traced in the sand the way the boat had been pulled ashore and dragged to its location. James pointed at beside the boat several tracks leading away from it. There was one pair that was rough and appeared to have been pulled alongside another. Will traced them with his hand. "Anamaria," he whispered.
Jack saw the look on Will's face and her name cross his lips and rose unsteadily, shoving Gibbs' hands away from him. He moved stiffly over to where the men stood, taking in the small wooden boat and the tracks in the sand. "They go into the jungle," he muttered.
James and Will looked at him. Jack met each of their eyes seriously, tapping his head with his index finger, "I've used this path 'afore. It goes straight into Wittenburg center."
"There's no way to intercept them," James mused thoughtfully, "So we'll have to go straight to the harbor and cut into the square from there."
The pirate captain, the commodore, and the blacksmith looked at each other, an unspoken question lying between them: would they find Anamaria in time? In time for what, neither man knew exactly. And what would happen if they did find her?
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"Bloody pirates," Jack grumbled, annoyed. His entire blasted crew had ganged up against him, Gibbs leadin' the lot of 'em, to force him back into bed and rest. Jack's head hit the pillow, and despite his protesting, he sighed in relief and closed his eyes as the throbbing pain in his head eased.
Someone knocked at the door. Jack opened one eye, his expression betraying his annoyance at being interrupted. "Come in!" he yelled reluctantly, not moving from his position with his back to the door.
Will came in wordlessly without bothering to shut the door. He sat in a straight-backed chair and put his face in his hands, and blurted out what he had been thinking since they had given the order to hasten to Wittenburg, "I don't have a good feeling about this, Jack. Too much can go wrong."
Jack carefully rolled to his other side, wincing as each scabbed-over cut rubbed against the bandages and his coarse shirt. He regarded at the young man with wide, serious eyes, every hint of his usual smirk and good spirits nonexistent. The pirate tilted his head to the side in observation, "Is this what ye said when they were comin' to rescue me?"
Will blinked, a frown puckering his forehead, "No," he said slowly.
"Then I don't see no difference, mate," Jack told the boy, his eyes narrowing thoughtfully.
Will still looked rather puzzled. Jack sighed and carefully rolled back onto his back, finding that that was the most comfortable position and raised his hand above him to gesture lazily with it. "When I was caught, ye and everyone else on this bloody crew, led by Anamaria mind you, didn't know what those buggers were doin' to me and hastened to me rescue, aye?" The blacksmith nodded, his eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "The problem is, mate, I can imagine what they're doin' to Ana and now I'm the one who's hastenin' to her rescue, savvy?"
"I understand that, but Jack, we don't even know where to begin looking," Will told him as if he was speaking to a simpleton.
"Ye forget lad, I'm Captain Jack Sparrow," Jack said grandly. Will shook his head in disbelief, as if to ask himself why this pirate never seemed to understand that unfortunate and terrible things happened to everyone, even Captain Jack Sparrow. Jack caught his look, his hand fell to his head, and he heaved a sigh, "And we promised each other she wouldn't go back. I promised her, mate. I don't break me promises."
Will watched the pirate captain, remembering the words he had exchanged with Anamaria only a day before. It seemed as if another lifetime. He became aware of a shadow across the midday sun in the doorway. His fiancé glided inside, sinking to sit on the floor beside Jack's bed, obviously having heard the words the captain had uttered.
"You know, Jack," Elizabeth said with a sigh, a wry smile present on her lips, "It got a little out of hand yesterday when she accused Norrington and me of not hurrying enough to her liking to your rescue." Elizabeth brought her hand to her cheek in remembrance and said in almost awe, "She actually slapped me."
Jack's somber expression took on that of pride and a smile graced his lips as he stared beyond the girl at nothing. "That's me girl."
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AN: Ugh, couldn't write as much as I wanted to-damn midyears are a waste of life. But, I will try to think up another chapter quite soon! We'll be hearing more about Ana next time, I can guarantee that m'dears.
