Disclaimer: I do not own anything or anyone from PotC.
A/N: Thank you so much for all of the review on my last chapter. I appreciate it more than I can say.
Chapter Twenty Four:
Anamaria watched as Prescott shouted orders to the crew, something about trying to hit the mast of the pirate ship. Her eyes began to moisten. She may have apologized to Prescott, though she wasn't sure if he had accepted or not, but she had not told him that he made his sister proud. He had come to Tortuga alone, without the power of the King's Navy to back him. When she had walked blindly into her dead husband's arms, Prescott had somehow managed to find her again. A nasty bruise had formed down one side of his face, and he seemed to be favoring the arm that she knew bore a pirate brand. What he had endured just to see that she was safe . . . She always knew that her brother was a capable Captain, anyone who read the Naval Gazette knew that. But, the depth of his ingenuity and his willingness to sacrifice had never really been revealed to her before now.
Prescott reached inside of his shirt and clasped the pair of crosses in his hand. Ana watched as his eyes closed. His lips moved almost imperceptibly. Ana's mouth fell open and her heart constricted in her chest. Why was he praying? Rushing to the head of the steps, the warm glow of sisterly pride vanished, leaving Ana with a cold, empty feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach. Her eyes immediately sought the pirate. Jack too was watching Prescott. His face was almost as grim as her brother's. Something was wrong.
"Jack," Ana moved closer to the wheel. "What's the matter? Why does Pres look so worried?"
Not turning to face her, the pirate said, "Only get one chance at this –"
If he intended to say more, Jack never got the chance. The deafening roar of the ship's cannon momentarily drowned out all other sounds on the small ship. Next, a silence as think as the gun smoke settled over the deck and threatened to smother Ana. She still had not been able to see Nefarious when a cry of victory erupted from the maindeck and a wide smile broke across her brother's face.
Turning to the pirate, Ana gazed into his dark eyes. He too looked relieved, but he was dutifully ignoring the woman standing beside him. Mentally, Ana scolded herself for ever doubting Jack. If she had it all to do over again, she would rush to his side and gladly take his side against Christopher. Shaking her head, Ana sighed. She didn't have it to do over. She had made her mistakes. Now, she had to try to find some way to fix the rift she had caused. She placed her hand over his on the wheel. "Looks like we may live through this night, after all."
"Well, well," a voice from Ana's past ripped through what could have been a tender moment. "If this isn't a touching little scene."
Ana spun around to confront the very angry face of her husband, gasping as she caught sight of his pistol, drawn and aimed at Jack. Slowly, Sparrow turned from the wheel to look at Chris. If he was surprised by the gun in Chris' hands, he did nothing to show it. The muscles in his jaw clenched and unclenched. He was not afraid. He was furious. Taking a step forward, Jack effectively put his body between Ana and Chris. "Déjà vu, all over again," he murmured.
Her attention darted back and forth from man to man, she did not understand the reactions of either. She had no idea why Chris was so mad and she had no idea why Jack was trying to protect her. Surely he did not believe that her own husband would shoot her. "Chris," she said. "What are you doing here?"
"I would ask you the same thing, my dear, if you weren't making it so obvious," her husband hissed, glaring at the pirate as he cocked his pistol.
"Obvious?" Ana repeated the word. "What are you talking about?"
"You couldn't stay aboard Interceptor. You needed to apologize to Prescott," Chris mimicked the desperate way she had spoke those same words. "This isn't Prescott, Maria, and I don't hear you apologizing."
"Chris! For heaven's sake, put that gun away," Ana hoped her voice sounded authoritative, not frightened. "What in the world would lead you to conclude that anything untoward was going on between Captain Sparrow and I?"
"Captain Sparrow is wearing my hat."
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Prescott's eyes instantly jumped to the worn leather tri-corner perched on top of Sparrow's head. "Hell and damnation," he swore under his breath, remembering the moment back in Tortuga when he realized that Jack was wearing Laffley's hat. Prescott had known in that instant, that his sister must have thought very highly of the pirate to give him such a gift. He remembered countless nights that he'd watched Annie cry herself to sleep embracing that same hat. Laffley did not know how Annie had treasured the hat, but he would know that Jack had not come by that hat by accident. He would know that this was not the first time Annie had ever come into contact with the infamous Jack Sparrow.
"So, I was right," Chris was saying. "There was someone else."
"Christopher," Ana started.
Covering his face with his hands, Prescott half wished that Sparrow would say something about bedding Annie every night for the past year, if only to spite Laffley. The pirate remained silent.
"For heaven's sake, Maria," Chris interrupted her. "I know you were grieving, but did your standards have to sink so low?"
"Because they were so lofty to begin with," Jack spoke up for the first time, and Prescott had to stifle a laugh. If anyone could beat Laffley at his own game, Jack Sparrow could, but . . . Prescott ascended the stairs to the quarterdeck, he may need a bit of help.
"For God's sake, Laffley," Prescott roared. "Put that gun away. What's gotten into you, man?"
Chris' cold gaze shifted. "Am I to assume that you knew of this union, and you simply looked the other way."
Union? The way Chris said that word made Prescott remember Ana's clever usage of the word "pillage" only days earlier. He shuddered internally. There hadn't been any union, at least, there better not have been any union.
Chris continued, "You are the only family that Maria has left. You have a duty to her, to keep her safe, and you let her carry on relations with a pirate?"
In mere seconds, Prescott closed the distance between he and Chris, knocking the gun out of his brother-in-law's hand. "Do not talk to me of duty," Prescott growled. "I know my duty to Annie, and I've done it. As for carrying on relations with another man, Annie is perfectly within her right to meet whomever she wishes – "
"She's a married woman!" Chris shouted, backing a few steps away from Prescott.
"Till death parts us, Christopher," Prescott said, smiling maliciously. "You were dead. She parted."
Chris' body stiffened, his eyes lowered. He knew Prescott spoke the truth, whether or not he wanted to hear that truth.
"Now, we have crippled Nefarious, but we must organize a boarding party and disarm her crew," Prescott said, his anger dissipating. "So, if you could keep your jealousy under control for a bit longer, I'd like to make sure no more honest sailors fall victim to Voller's fleet. Are we clear?"
"Perfectly," Laffley answered.
"Good," Prescott turned from Chris. "Mr. Daniels, round up the men, prepare to board her."
"Aye, Sir," came the reply.
"Captain Sparrow," Prescott turned to the pirate. A shadow had fallen over Sparrow's already black eyes. Standing on the deck of a pirate ship with Chris Laffley's gun trained on him, must have brought buried memories back to the surface. "Take us a bit closer, if you please."
The pirate said nothing. He simply turned to the wheel and brought the smaller pirate vessel up alongside of her former compatriot.
"Annie," Prescott issued his final set of orders. "The captain's cabin is right beneath the boards we're standing on. Go down those stairs, make two right turns. Lock the door behind you, and please, do not come out until I come find you."
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Anamaria put her hands on her hips and scowled at her older brother. Perhaps she had not listened so well to his last request to lock herself in her cabin, but must he treat her like a child? She wanted to apologize to Prescott. If something would have happened, if he would have . . . Well, if she hadn't gotten the chance to tell him she was sorry, then she could not have lived with herself. So, she swung from one ship to another in the midst of a battle. She had good reason.
"Annie," he said, a warning in his voice, his blue eyes just daring her to disagree with him.
She raised her eyebrow. An image of Prescott throwing her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes flashed in her head. Between the stress of battle, the frustration of dealing with Christopher, and the impending boarding of the Nefarious, he might just do it. "I'll go," she answered.
Prescott's eyes widened slightly, as though he had been expecting her to put up a fight. Ana nodded her head, better to keep him guessing.
"I'll see that she's safe," Chris spoke up.
Ana saw Jack send an angry glare her husband's direction. She smiled inwardly, the pirate almost looked jealous. Maybe he wasn't lost to her yet. "I do not require an escort," she said, as she turned and stalked off towards the former pirate captain's quarters.
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She went. She just agreed with me, and went. Prescott could barely contain the urge to jump up and down with glee, despite the undignified appearance of such an action. Annie never did what he asked her to do. As soon as the boarding was complete, he would find a calendar and commemorate this monumental occasion.
"Going t'stand there with your mouth 'anging open, or are we going t'finish this?" Sparrow's voice brought Prescott back to the reality of the situation.
Prescott turned to see the crew, led by Mr. Daniels, leaping onto the deck of the Nefarious. Drawing his cutlass, Prescott smiled. "I'm ready to be rid of Voller's crew, don't you agree."
"Aye," the pirate drew his own sword and followed Prescott over to the enemy ship.
The pirate's formerly under Voller's command were prepared for the fight that the men of the English Navy brought. These men, masquerading as East India agents, were not going to simply give in and surrender as did the men of their sister ship. Voller had obviously trained his crew to be ruthless, and bloodthirsty, as pirates were reported to be. Briefly, the thought crossed Prescott's mind that Voller's men were the kind that gave good men like Jack Sparrow a bad name. The pirates were each armed with assorted swords, knives, and pistols. They were prepared to die in defense of their ship, and they were prepared to take as many of their attackers down with them as they could manage.
The fighting was desperate. The Interceptor was out of position and had yet to send an additional boarding party. They were easily outnumbered two to one. To his left, Prescott saw Sparrow fighting three men at once, and hardly breaking a sweat. He even took the time to send a wink in Prescott's direction. Just in front of him, Daniels had characteristically "disarmed" his opponent. Surprisingly, Chris had even joined in the fighting, pistol in one hand, sword in the other. Maybe it was an attempt to redeem himself. Maybe.
Guided by years of service in His Majesty's Navy, Prescott's first thought was to take the quarterdeck, and demand a surrender from the commanding officer. Unfortunately for the man who stood in command, Prescott recognized him as one of the men who dragged him down to the hold only days earlier.
"You?" the pirate exclaimed, obviously surprised.
Prescott allowed an evil grin to take over his face. "Didn't expect to see me again so soon?" he said as he lunged forward his sword crashing against the pirate's blade. The pirate stepped back, unable to attack. He had all he could do to defend himself against Prescott's onslaught. Driven by a righteous anger, and a less than righteous desire for revenge, Prescott fought with the strength he didn't know he had. In a final decisive parry, Prescott brought the blade of his cutlass down across the man's wrist, the result of which would have made Mr. Daniels very proud.
The pirate's eyes snapped open, as his left hand closed around the space where his right used to be. Blood poured out through this fingers as the man staggered backward. Holding his sword to the man's throat, Prescott wondered how gratifying it would be to send the pirate's severed head into the sea. Taking a deep breath, his fury subsiding somewhat, Prescott managed to restrain himself.
Casting a brief glance over the deck, he watched as the Interceptor came alongside and a detachment of Norrington's marines joined in the fighting. Satisfied smile firmly in place, Prescott returned his stare to the now left-handed pirate. "The ship is ours," he declared, loud enough for many of the pirate's fellow crewmembers to hear. "Do you surrender?"
"Captain!" Prescott heard Daniels' voice behind him.
Turning he saw the young pirate pointing with his sword to the opposite end of the ship. Prescott's eyes scanned the ship feverishly till they came to rest on the figure of Chris Laffley. A small puff of smoke billowed up from his pistol. Quickly as he could, Prescott's eyes darted to the spot where he had seen Sparrow fighting, just in time to see the pirate Captain's body falling over the side of the ship.
"Damn him to hell," Prescott spat.
Completely forgetting about the enemy kneeling before him, and the question of said pirate's surrender, Prescott bounded down the quarterdeck stairs and raced across the length of the ship. Dropping his sword somewhere along the way, Prescott leapt into the churning sea, without a second's hesitation.
TBC
Okay, I know that was an evil cliffy, but I want to keep you coming back for more! If you need another Jack and Ana tale to tide you over while I write chapter 25, please check out my newest one shot "An Enchanted Moment."
Now, please don't leave without reviewing!