Disclaimer: I have not yet discovered a way to own anyone from POTC, so I shall have to be content to write about them.
A/N: Still having fun trying to make italics work with me, so I'm also adding **** to signify a flashback.
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"Anamaria," Sparrow repeated, "beautiful. Shouldn't keep it to yourself, luv."
"I'll remember that, next time a pirate drops in," Ana said.
Her name did sound beautiful when he said it. His voice was light when he was not threatening to kill her. Yet, how he spoke was of no concern to her, or at least it shouldn't be. He was a pirate. This was a robbery. She was to give him money and that would be the end of it. Period. Done deal.
Shaking her head, Anamaria turned and ascended the stairs to the back door, "so, Captain, how much money does it take to persuade a crew to join a pirate just escaped from prison?" Another bold statement. She could not fathom why she kept antagonizing a dangerous man, but nor could she stop herself from doing so. Sparrow did not respond. Ana turned back to find out why and saw him standing at the top of the stairs with his hand on his brow.
"Captain? Are you alright?"
Sparrow dropped his hand, "fine," he said softly.
He slowly walked towards her. Clearly he was in pain. The blood on his shoulder had looked fresh, and she now noticed a slight limp. Cornado's face flashed in front of her eyes. His cruelty seemed to know no bounds. Sparrow stopped and swayed slightly on his feet.
Anamaria hurried to his side, "no, you're not fine." Hesitantly, she pushed his overcoat aside and barely stifled a gasp. There was more blood than she expected to see. Much more.
*****
When the doctor had finished cleaning the wounds on Sparrow's back, the water in the bowl was as red as blood. The doctor removed his spectacles and rubbed his eyes.
"Doctor, you must be tired," Anamaria said, "I'll tend to what's left, if you'd like?"
He regarded Anamaria sternly, "what's your interest in this man?" he asked, finally.
She pursed her lips and produced the iciest glare she could muster, "What are you implying doctor?"
The man's eyes widened slightly, "nothing. Nothing at all. If it would not be too much an inconvenience, I would like to get some rest . . ."
"Certainly," she replied.
The doctor helped her to turn Sparrow onto his back, so she could tend to the lesions on his chest, before bidding her goodnight and leaving her alone with the pirate. As gently and quickly as she could, Ana bandaged the man's wounds. He had not moved at all. Lastly, she set to the cuts on his wrists. Suspended from the stone column in the yard, the pirate's full weight had been carried by the irons that bound his wrists. Shaking her head sadly, Ana delicately brushed the wetted cloth across the abrasion. The pirate moaned softly and pulled his hand away from her ministrations.
"Ssh," she soothed, "I'm almost finished." She returned the cloth to his wrist. Without warning, Sparrow grabbed hold of her arm. She was taken aback by the strength of his grasp.
"Please," he rasped. His voice was no more than a whisper.
Ana felt a pain in her chest. This man's suffering was incomprehensible, not to mention meaningless. No deed could warrant such a punishment. She tugged her arm from Sparrow's hand and placed her own on his forehead. "I don't want to hurt you. Try to relax. I'm almost done."
Sparrow shook his head, "water?" he said.
Ana brought a small cup to his chapped lips and placed her hand on the back of his head for support. "W-Who are you?" Sparrow questioned, his voice slightly clearer.
"A friend," she answered, placing her hand on his shoulder, "how long were you out there?"
Sparrow furrowed his brow, but did not open his eyes, "I-I don't know. A month . . . maybe."
"A month!" Ana exclaimed through gritted teeth. That lying bastard. Two weeks. Two weeks was horrible in and of itself, but Sparrow had been chained in the blazing sun with no water for twice that long. That monster. How could someone hurt another human being to this degree?
Ana returned her gaze to the injured pirate. His face had relaxed, and he appeared to be asleep. She quickly finished tending to his wrists before storming out of his cell.
Her fists were clenched and her rage was emulating from her brown eyes. Cornado was not going to inflict this kind of pain on a man and get away with it. She was going to give him a piece of her mind and a swift kick in the – .
"Annie?" Prescott stepped in her way as she entered Cornado's manor, "where have you been?" Her brother's blue eyes widened with understanding, and he knew the answer to his question before she uttered a word. "Tell me you didn't."
"Didn't what?"
"You know what," he snapped as he took hold of her arm and ushered her into their rooms, "tell me where you were. Tell me you weren't with that pirate."
"Would you like me to tell you where I was or that I wasn't with the pirate?" she said placing her hands on her hips and scowling.
Prescott rolled his eyes, "Annie, pirates are – "
"I know dangerous and vile and not to be trusted," she finished.
"Just . . . just promise me, promise me you will behave yourself until we are rescued from this god forsaken place. Promise me you will not irritate Cornado."
"And why not? That man is an animal!"
"Lower your voice."
"I will not."
"You will. Do you want Don Antonio's hospitality to run out? He has opened his home to us. Like it or not, you must bite your tongue," Prescott said.
"If you saw what he did," Ana said, her hands falling from her hips, "he was covered in blood. Completely covered."
"I don't like it anymore than you do, but there isn't anything we can do."
*****
"Why didn't you tell me that you were hurt?"
"A doctor now too, luv?" he said weakly.
"My father was a doctor and my – . . . well, I know enough."
Sparrow raised his eyebrow, suspiciously. He backed away from her and gingerly pulled his coat over his bloodied shoulder, "I'm fine," he said again.
Ana nodded. He was lying. She could see that, but he was not going to trust her to help him. She pushed open the rear door to her home and led the pirate to the study.
"So, once again I ask, how much money do you require to persuade a crew to serve under a pirate just escaped from prison?"
Once again Sparrow did not answer. Instead, he was leaning on the door frame, with his hand clutching his injured shoulder.
"Captain," Ana said as she crossed the room to stand next to him, "at least allow me to dress your wound."
Tentatively, she removed his hand from his shoulder. He flinched, almost imperceptibly, at her touch. His chocolate eyes searched her face. She did not know what he was looking for, so she merely held his gaze. Finally, he nodded and placed his good arm around her shoulders. She helped him to one of the leather chairs in the study and was somewhat concerned by how heavily he leaned on her.
Sparrow's eyes were closed when Ana returned with water, bandages, and alcohol, and his breathing seemed labored. Images of his body shivering in the dank infirmary threatened to take control of her mind. Who was this pirate that she should care at all for his well being?
"Mr. Sparrow?"
"Captain," he said, opening his eyes.
Ana smirked, "fine, Captain. I've brought alcohol to clean your wound. It'll sting a bit." She wet the cloth with the liquid and the aroma filled her nostrils. Suddenly, Sparrow grabbed her hand, forcing her to drop the cloth.
"What is that?"
"I told you, alcohol."
"Yes, yes. But what?"
"I don't know," Ana admitted, confused, "something the locals make, I think?"
"Rum!?"
"Yes, that's it. Why?"
The pirate snatched the bottle from her hands, brought it to his mouth, and drank as deeply as a man who found an oasis in the desert. "I've missed that," he said handing the bottle back to Ana. Taking it, she brought it to her nose and sniffed.
"You drink this?"
"As much as I can hold."
Ana raised her eyebrow. Inexplicably, she lifted the bottle to her own lips and took a sip of the spicy liquid. It burned as it slid down her throat. She grimaced and blinked a few times. She licked her lips and shrugged.
Sparrow was watching her, an expression of amusement hovering around his face. There was a glimmer in his dark, kohl-lined eyes that Ana had not noticed before, "well, what do you think, luv?"
She cocked her head to one side, "Not bad, sweetheart," she replied, mocking the way he spoke.
He stared back at her for a few seconds. Ana watched him, watching her and an amazing thing happened. He smiled. "Anamaria, you might've made a fine pirate."
Ana laughed, "Me? A pirate? Mr. Sparrow, has that rum gone to your head already?"
"No, luv. Fact is fact, is all."
Ana shook her head and laughed quietly as she tried to picture herself at the helm of a pirate ship during battle. What she saw, while not as completely undesirable as she had expected, was quite a funny picture. She sighed, "I bet you say that to all the girls."
"I don't," Sparrow answered simply.
As Ana finished cleaning his shoulder wound, she could not help but think that Sparrow was paying her a very high compliment. She was flattered. She did not know why she should care what this pirate saw in her. All she did was drink a tiny bit of rum. If that is all pirating takes, then she knew of a great many women from the taverns in town that would do just fine on a pirate ship.
"Now, I shall ask you for the last time, how much of my money do you require?"
The pair agreed on an amount and Ana walked with the pirate to the door. She half hoped that he would be too injured to want to leave just yet. Perhaps he was, but he was leaving just the same, and Ana was inexplicably saddened by his impending departure.
"Well, Captain Jack Sparrow, I do thank you for dropping in. If you are ever in Kingston, do not hesitate to stop by," Ana said in a grand flourish, trying to disguise the fact that she really would not mind seeing the pirate again.
Sparrow put his hands together in front of him and bowed, "thank you, luv, for making this robbery the most pleasant in recent memory."
Ana smiled and pulled open the heavy front door only to come face to face with her brother, Prescott.
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