Disclaimer: I'm just playing with POTC for a little while, sadly none of the characters from the movie are mine.
A/N: As ever I have italics and ** for a flashback. Thank you so so so so much for all of the great feedback. I'm happy to be able to write a story that you seem to like so much! Alright, onto chapter eight!
*****
Anamaria watched in horror as Cornado clubbed Sparrow on the head with his pistol. The pirate fell to the ground, and the commandant turned to face her.
"Don Antonio, was that entirely necessary?" she asked trying to regain her composure after being manhandled by the insane Spaniard.
"Necessary!" Cornado repeated, "Señora, that you would presume to know anything about how to handle pirates –"
"I know how to treat another human being!"
Cornado threw his pistol on the ground and grabbed Ana's shoulders so that she could feel his breath on her face as he spoke, "pirates are not human beings. The things that these creatures do –"
"Don Antonio!" Prescott's voice interrupted the commandant's speech, "unhand my sister or by God I'll not be held accountable for my actions."
The Spaniard let go of Ana's shoulders and she stepped backwards so that she was behind her brother and his pistol.
Prescott's blue eyes were like ice as he glared at Cornado. "The Calypso is ready to embark. I thank you, Don Antonio, for your hospitality. I'm sure our paths will cross again some day, and I would just like to say that if you ever lay a hand on my sister again, I'll see you dead."
Prescott holstered his weapon and extended his arm to Ana. She stared sadly at the pirate's motionless body. Taking her brother's arm, she said a silent prayer that this pirate would not die at the hands of that swine.
"Well, what did you say to him this time?" he asked once they were on board.
Ana shrugged, "I just told him what I thought of him and his methods."
Prescott laughed, "oh, is that all?"
"Thank you."
*****
Ana awoke suddenly from her dream to hear someone pounding on her front door. As she pulled on a robe, she heard Sarah answering the call. She tiptoed to the top of the staircase.
"It's late, sir," her maid was saying.
"I know, but this is important, savvy?"
Sparrow?
Ana heard footsteps coming up the stairs followed closely by her maid's desperate pleas to wait down in the parlor. She backed away from the door just before the pirate flung it open and entered her room.
The brown clergy robes that he had worn earlier were gone, replaced by a simple white shirt and black pants. He was out of breath as though he had ran the entire way from the docks to her house.
"Anamaria –"
Without thinking, Ana walked right up to Sparrow and brought her hand across his face with a loud clap. His head snapped to one side, and he stumbled backward. He touched his reddening cheek.
"What was that for?" he asked stretching his jaw.
Ana placed her hands on her hips, "what was that for?" she repeated, "that my dear Mr. Sparrow was for taking advantage of every good thing I have tried to do for you and then having the audacity to think you are at all welcome in this house!"
The pirate straightened, "Anamaria – "
"I am sorry, Mr. Sparrow, but I really am not at all interested in anything you have to say."
"That so, luv?"
"You will leave, or I shall alert my brother and he will see to it that you are dealt with," Ana regretted her threat almost as soon as the words left her lips. It was one thing to want Sparrow out of her house, but it was quite unnecessary to make threats for the sole purpose of hurting the man.
She expected Sparrow to react with anger, and he surprised her when he simply bowed his head and said, "I'm sorry."
Ana's heart nearly broke as the note of defeat in his voice reached her ears. In her head she knew that she should feel nothing, save for disdain, for this pirate. However, her heart was speaking much louder than her head when it told her to at least hear what Sparrow had to say.
Her thoughts were interrupted by more commotion downstairs. Once again, she heard her maid telling someone that Ana could not be disturbed at such a late hour, and like before, she heard footsteps climbing the stairs.
"What's going on?" she asked Sparrow.
Before he could answer a Spanish soldier burst into her room. His eyes darted back and forth between the pirate and the lady.
"Do not be afraid, m'Lady," he said, "I will take care of this filthy piece of trash."
The Spaniard grabbed Sparrow roughly by his injured arm and pulled him towards the bedroom door, but then, quicker than lightening, the pirate tugged his arm away from the soldier's grasp and stole the man's pistol. He stepped away from the Spaniard and aimed the weapon at the other man's chest. However, before he could fire, the soldier lunged forward, caught Sparrow around the waist, and thrust him against the wall. The pirate's back connected with the wood and a cry escaped his lips. The gun fell from his hand and slid across the floor.
Ana dropped to her knees, and her eyes clamped shut. The cry was the very same one that had woken her all those months ago on Don Cornado's island.
*****
Ana stood in the wet sand. The warm water lapped against her bare feet. Yesterday, HMS Calypso had docked in Kingston leaving behind prisons and pirates. Yesterday, she had once again set foot in the city that she called home. And, yesterday, she had learned that the very same storm that had left her and Prescott in la Cerradura had also claimed the life of her husband.
She stared blankly out at the blue sea. Christopher had loved the sea in a way that he could never love a woman. Not even her. At night, he used to wear a long brown coat and a leather hat, so that no one would recognize him, and he would walk along the beach, alone.
He said that the sea, and not Kingston, would always be his home.
His lieutenant, a man named Norrington, said that Christopher was thrown overboard while trying to sail the ship through the gale. In the end, the sea had claimed him. Maybe now, he was at home and at rest.
"He loved you, you know," she heard her brother's voice.
"And I loved him," Ana said quietly.
Prescott placed his hand on her shoulder, "at least, he died trying to save the lives of his crew. There is honor in that."
"I suppose there is," she said, "I just . . . I just would have liked to say goodbye."
Ana fought wildly against the tears that were beating against her eyes and trying desperately to fall.
Prescott squeezed her shoulder.
"I-I miss him."
"Annie, take your time and mourn, but try to remember that life does not end with the death of someone that you love."
"You said the same thing when Findley was killed."
"It was true then and it's true now."
Ana tore her gaze from the sea and stared into her brother's blue eyes.
"Annie, Fin and Christopher are gone, but we're still here. Hard as it may be, you have to live your life, for them and for yourself. You have to move on."
*****
Her brother's words pounded in her ears. She opened her eyes and saw the soldier holding Sparrow up against the wall. His dark hand was pressing against Sparrow's wounded shoulder.
Then, she saw the pistol. She saw her hand reach out and pick up the weapon. She saw Sparrow's eyes widen as she stood up and aimed the gun.
The room was suddenly filled with a sound louder than thunder. A cloud of smoke billowed up from the barrel of the pistol and the odor of gunpowder filled her nostrils.
Time slowed. She watched as the pirate and the soldier fell to the floor.
Don't hate me for the cliffhanger, I'm just trying to keep you all on your toes! Please, don't leave without sending me a review and letting me know how I'm doing.