Though they had been well informed of her pirating skills only yesterday, Jack and Mr. Gibbs were none-the-less surprised to see Anamaria in the midst of a swordfight. Gibbs noticed that three of the men were the ones he had overheard earlier and mentioned it to Jack. Most of the people on the street had gone back to doing whatever they had been involved in before the fight started, but Jack and Gibbs crossed the street to get a better view of the action.
Despite the great odds, Anamaria was doing an excellent job of defending herself, but that was all she was able to do. With five men against her, she was not going to be given the chance to take an offensive strategy. She had already been driven into the alley and her back was to the wall. For the moment, her positioning was helping her; the men were not able to truly surround her. Jack could tell she was growing tired and feeling overwhelmed when he saw her swordplay weaken. Therefore, he was not surprised moments later when one of the men disarmed her and she hung her head, noticeably disappointed in herself. Her sword slid out of the alley and came to a stop about twelve feet in front of Jack and Gibbs.
Jack surprised himself by walking over and picking it up. "What seems to be the problem 'ere sailors?" he asked. Jack couldn't believe that he was defending this girl. He didn't really know her and if he let the men kill her, it would allow him to steal the boat without it ever being missed. However, he found himself liking her just from what he had learned in the last few days. She was skilled with a sword and knew how to sail, factors that would make her an excellent addition to his crew later on.
Upon hearing his voice, Anamaria raised her head to study the man who had saved her life for the minute. She did not recognize him, which made her even angrier at the situation. How dare he come to her rescue!
"We're just teachin' this lil' lass a lesson in manners," the pirate who stood directly in front of her answered. The other pirates laughed at his response.
"Is that right?" Jack asked, stepping even closer; Anamaria's sword still remained in his hand.
"Is that a problem with you, mate?" one of the other pirates asked, now sensing Jack as more of an imposing threat.
"Well, most of the time, I mind my own business," Jack started off, "but it jus' so 'appens that this is a…" Jack paused searching for the correct word. Finding none, he continued fabricating, "distant relative of mine. I'm supposed to make sure she stays out of trouble." Jack smiled.
"A distan' relative?" the pirate questioned, laughing.
"Aye," Jack stated.
With the time he had bought her, Anamaria had been studying the situation. On closer inspection, he did look familiar to her. Anamaria tried to place the strange looking, but somehow still attractive man and then it came to her. He had been at the Briar Rose the night before last. He's the one who almost fell off his barstool trying to pick up that tavern wench, she thought. She had laughed at how pitiful he had looked then and now here he was sticking his nose into her business where it definitely didn't belong and trying to rescue her.
"Who the hell do you think you are?" she yelled at him.
Jack looked at her, his face turning confused for only a second before he caught himself. "She's my cousin's wife…" he said, looking back to the pirates. "We never did get along well did we?" he said, once again looking her directly in the eyes. He saw the red-hot anger burning in them, embarrassment at having to be rescued coupled with pure hatred for her rescuer. "But I did tell 'im I would watch out for 'er," Jack said to the pirates. He knew it sounded more than a little farfetched, but he still believed his side had the upper hand. He had seen what Anamaria was capable of and he already knew of his own as well as Gibbs skills when it came to swordplay.
As the pirates looked at each other and snickered, Jack took the opportunity to catch them off guard. Tossing Anamaria her sword, he drew his own. He took on two of the pirates and Gibbs one, leaving Anamaria to deal with the man who clearly appeared to be the leader as well as another.
While it was still five against three, it did not take long for Jack and Gibbs to win their fights. They stepped back to watch Anamaria who had already killed the weaker pirate, but was still at odds with the leader.
"She has good form," Gibbs commented, watching her as she blocked, parried, and jabbed.
"Good footwork also," Jack said, still impressed himself.
After several minutes more of fighting, Anamaria delivered the last fateful blow and the leader fell to the ground. She wiped the blood from the blade of her sword and resheathed it, walking out of the alley to join Jack and Mr. Gibbs.
"Anyone else goin' to come after ye that we should be warned about? Or are we in the clear for now?" Jack asked.
"Seein' as how I didn't know they were out to get me," Anamaria said. Walking away from the two men, she added, "Don't worry about me, I can take care of myself."
Jack caught up with her in a few long strides. "You fight well luv," he said, placing a hand on her shoulder to turn her around.
She swatted at his hand, but he pulled away before she could actually touch him. "First of all, no one calls me luv, so don't ever even think of saying that to me again. Second, I don't know who you think you are, but I don't need your opinions on my swordsmanship."
Jack smiled, "Fine, how's this? You fight like a man, let's see if you can drink like one."
"Are you inviting me to drink with you?" Anamaria asked, her eyebrows rose as she posed the question. She rarely socialized with other pirates, too many of them were interested in only what they could get from her body, but it had been a stressful night and she would like a drink to help settle her nerves.
"Only if you want to drink with us," Jack said, a bit of smartness coming through in his tone.
"Alright," Anamaria agreed. "I usually go to the Briar Rose. Will that be alright?"
"That's perfect," Jack said. "So do we."
Anamaria led the way while Jack and Gibbs followed.
"This is my chance," Jack whispered to Gibbs, "Savvy?" He smiled to himself.
"Aye," Gibbs said.
The three pirates entered the tavern and Anamaria led them to the bar. She didn't want to have to sit alone with these men. Sure, they had proven they were better than most pirates by assisting her earlier, but she still found herself thinking there must be some ulterior motive in their willingness to help her out. She only had to get enough alcohol in the younger of the two to find out just what that motive was.