Jack leaned in closer to Captain Kendrick, his brow furrowing with confusion.
"Listen closely Captain Sparrow. I think you will find that Anamaria's past is of great interest to you," Captain Kendrick said, leaning back in his chair and preparing to tell his story.
"I met Anamaria eight years ago when one of my crew members spotted a young girl in a small rowboat floating several miles off the coast of St. Croix. As we drew closer, we realized the girl was unconscious. So we brought her aboard and several hours later she came to. Said she had been on that boat for almost a week with no food or water.
Well, we got her eating and drinking again. I know pirate food is far from the best, but to someone who hasn't eaten in almost a week…you'da thought that was the most delicious thing that girl ever put in her mouth," Captain Kendrick said, laughing at the memory.
"My plans were to drop Anamaria off the next time we came to port," he continued, "but when one of the crew members informed her of my intentions, she came to me in private. I liked Anamaria, thought she was a nice young girl, but up until that point she had kept the story of how she ended up in that little boat in the middle of the ocean a secret to me and my crew. No matter how many times we asked, she continuously refused to divulge her past.
I remember her knocking on the door of my cabin and requesting to speak with me vividly. I couldn't believe that a girl her age would be so bold as to ask to speak to the captain of the ship himself…a captain who was a pirate at that! She couldn't have been more than seventeen!
Her lack of fear impressed me so much that I let her in and agreed to speak with her. We sat down and she told me that she was willing to share her story with me if I promised never to reveal what she said to the crew. I consented, mainly because I was interested in finding out more about her, and it was a small thing to keep her story from becoming common knowledge.
She told me that she had grown up in a village on St. Croix, the small island that we had found her floating several miles off shore of. You might be familiar with it yourself," he paused, waiting for Jack to respond.
"I've 'eard of it," Jack said, unsure of exactly where he had heard the name before, but knowing that it sounded very familiar. He had yet to see why Captain Kendrick thought he would be so intrigued by Anamaria's story, but was still listening intently.
"She said she had been living alone with her brother for quite a few years, their parents having passed away when they were younger. Both of them worked hard in the little village to support themselves, her brother was a merchant sailor and Anamaria a barmaid at one of the local taverns.
About a week before we found her and took her aboard the Duchess, Captain Barbossa and his crew raided her village in the middle of the night."
Jack perked up, instantly becoming much more interested in hearing the rest of Anamaria's tale.
"Since their village was so small, the people were completely unprepared and ultimately incapable of defending themselves when the pirates came ashore. They had always assumed that no pirate would even think about pillaging their village because there were so few items of value to be found, but you yourself know how cruel and ruthless Captain Barbossa can be."
"Aye, I do," Jack said, his face falling as the Pearl came to his mind.
"Well, Anamaria's brother begged her to run and hide in the forest, telling her that she knew the island better than almost anyone and she would be safe there. She pleaded with him to join her and he agreed to accompany her, but only to the edge of the woods, no further. While he knew the village stood no chance against the crew of the Black Pearl, he intended to stay and defend his people to the end. As he and Anamaria got closer to the edge of the forest there was a gunshot. Turning around, she saw that her brother was no longer running behind her, but instead had fallen to the ground. He shouted to her to hurry and save herself, that it was too late for him. Seeing the pirate that had fired the fateful shot growing closer every second, she took off running as fast as she could into the forest.
She wasn't sure how she escaped, but she said the next morning she woke up on the ground deep in the woods. Upon finding her way back to the village she discovered that she was the sole survivor of the previous night's attack. She ran to the docks in hope of taking her brother's ship and going after the Black Pearl, but it had been destroyed in the cannon fire. The only seaworthy craft she could find was a rowboat so she took it, realizing only after she got out to sea how foolish she had been, her anger having blinded her senses.
She tried to get back to the island, but she had no compass and feared she was only going in circles. Her arms grew tired from rowing and so she gave up, knowing that she would most likely die from starvation or overexposure to the elements," Captain Kendrick paused a moment, but Jack remained silent, entranced by the story he was being told.
"Four days later, we found her. She thanked me for being kind enough to pick her up and take care of her. I couldn't believe all that this young girl had been through. It was amazing she had survived. I expressed to her that I thought she was very brave and very lucky and commented how she must be excited to think that soon she would be safe on land once again. It was at that point that she became very distraught. She had kept calm through the telling of her entire story, but was becoming upset only now? It made no sense to me; I assumed she might be afraid of pirates attacking again and attempted to calm her fears, but she stopped me. She told me that she didn't want to go and live in another town, she wanted instead to become a part of my crew.
I laughed at first, a woman part of my crew? And not just any woman, but a girl really, almost a child…I told her it would never work.
She insisted that I give it some more thought. Her brother had taught her to sail and she had already proven herself with the crew. She told me that her one goal in life was to get even with Barbossa for killing her brother and if she were ever going to accomplish this, she would need someone to teach her the tricks of the trade and the way of the sea. The more I considered it, the more the idea grew on me and by the time we reached our next port, I ordered her into my cabin and told her that I wanted her to stay on as a member of my crew.
Anamaria sailed with me for six years…excellent sailor…good pirate," Captain Kendrick said, almost growing a little misty-eyed. "At the end of those six years, she came to me and told me that it was time for her to go her own way. She had learned everything from me that she possibly could and would always be grateful. However, she had always known that I had no interest in going after Captain Barbossa and that eventually she would have to become captain of her own ship and find her own crew if her goal in life was ever going to be met.
When we came to Tortuga that next time, she stayed behind. From what I heard, she had rounded up a pretty good crew and was well on her way to making a name for herself in the Caribbean when something went terribly wrong…her crew mutinied…must have been some bad apples in the group who thought they could take advantage of her since she was a woman," Captain Kendrick said, his eyes clearly expressing the pain he felt for Anamaria.
Jack was shocked, but still did not dare interrupt the captain's story for fear of missing an important detail.
"Now she's back in Tortuga, starting over again. She knows she's always welcome aboard the Duchess, one of the best sailors I've ever known, but that's not what she wants out of her life. She's out for revenge, out to get Barbossa and even things out…" Captain Kendrick trailed off.
"So, Captain Sparrow, I guess you two may have a few things in common, eh?"
"I don't know what to say. I 'ad no idea," Jack was at a loss for words, for one of the first times in his life. This was all too good to be true; it had the potential of working out perfectly. He almost felt bad for thinking of stealing her boat, but he was willing to do whatever it took to get the Pearl back.
"Well, Captain Kendrick," Jack said, stroking the braids on his chin, "You've been very 'elpful."
"I try to help out when I can," he replied. "Anamaria is special to me and I think you may be able to help her get what she wants most."
Jack pushed his chair back and stood up from the table, "You're a good man, Captain." He offered his hand to him.
"Thank you Captain Sparrow," he said shaking Jack's hand.
Jack leaned over and picked up his bag of shillings from the table, holding it out to Captain Kendrick as a gesture of goodwill.
"I told you already, I don't want your money," the captain told Jack. "Just help Anamaria get Barbossa."
Jack nodded.
Gibbs stood and Captain Kendrick shook his hand as well.
"Thanks for your 'elp Captain," Gibbs said.
"Anytime Gibbs," Kendrick replied, patting him on the back. "Gibbs here is a good man too. He's sailed with me a few times when I was in need of some extra crewmembers. He's almost as good as Anamaria in fact, except he's not as easy on the eyes."
"Thanks," Gibbs said as the three men shared a laugh.
Captain Kendrick escorted them back to the deck of the ship. "Hope you two enjoy the rest of your day in Tortuga," he said shaking both of their hands again.
"Thank you once again, Captain," Jack said as they turned to go. "If there is ever a way I can return the favor, jus' let me know."
"Aye," Captain Kendrick answered.