Disclaimer: POTC rocks
A/N: Anamaria is one of the coolest pirates ever. Respect!
Squirrel sits on the floor, examining the contents of her belt-purse. The four gold coins that Gibbs gave her, nuts of all shapes and sizes, and the silver coin on a piece of cord. Squirrel picks up the coin and puts it over her head, like a necklace. The silver feels cold and soothing on her skin. Squirrel picks up a gold coin, twisting it between her fingers. It's cold, but not as cold as the silver. There's a knock on the cabin door, and Squirrel quickly scoops the nuts and gold back into the bag. As the door opens, she drops the silver coin behind her clothes, so only the string is visible. For a moment, Squirrel thinks of Dawn. She had an amulet from her lover, and she kept it hidden in the same way.
"Squirrel?" It's Anamaria. Squirrel stands slowly, burns still troubling her. The Negro woman comes in, carrying a tray full of bandages and clay jars and pots.
"I found these below deck." The woman says, avoiding Squirrel's eyes as she comes into the room. "Burn salves. They'll heal your wounds."
"D-don't d-d-do that." Squirrel says shortly. Ana looks up, confused.
"Do what?"
Squirrel takes a deep breath. "D-don't p-pretend I-I'm not here. D-don't a-avert your eyes. I h-hate it w-when p-people d-d-do that."
"Really?" Ana says, setting down the tray and putting her hands on her hips. "Well, do you want to know what I hate? I hate it when little girls stammer and act afraid, like they have no power."
Squirrel stares at Ana, mouth opening and closing, but sound coming out.
"You're a spineless little worm, you are." Anamaria barks. "Why didn't you stand up for yourself? Why haven't you tried not to speak without a stammer? What are you afraid of?"
Squirrel continues to act like a fish out of water.
"Look at you," She continues, eyes hard. "Hiding behind a cloak. Stop being so timid and weak. You're a shame to all women."
An emotion Squirrel has never felt before explodes out of her, and she barks right back. "Well, excuse me for being who I am! Maybe you have the high life out here on the ocean without anyone trying to kill you everyday, but I sure didn't! Just coz I'm not some everyday run-of-the-mill slut like you doesn't mean I'm a shame to every…" She falters, realising that she spoke every single word without a single stammer. She blushes furiously, rage against Ana forgotten.
The Negro woman stands in shocked silence for a moment, then throws back her head and laughs.
"See? I knew you could do it!" She smiles kindly at Squirrel. "You just need a little motivation to speak proper like the rest of us. Sorry about the insults, by the way." Squirrel shrinks back in her cloak, red as a tomato. I was tricked so easily. She thinks, But I've never felt so good about myself.
"Can we make a deal?" Ana asks, tucking a strand of her wild brown hair behind her ears. "Promise me you'll never stammer like that again, and I won't ever snap at you, alright, girl?"
Squirrel frowns. "Don't call me g-g-girl." The stammer comes without warning. As does Anamaria's knife.
"Maybe you didn't hear me, Squirrel." Ana smiles, pinning Squirrel's arms behind her back and pressing her blade against the cloaked girl's throat. "I said stop stammering. If you do stammer, this sort of thing will happen." Squirrel struggles, fighting back tears and a shriek of pain. Ana is digging her nails into her burned arm and side.
"Promise me?" Anamaria asks pleasantly. When Squirrel does not reply, Ana draws the dagger back and forth Squirrel's neck without cutting flesh. "Say it without a stammer, girl."
Something metal falls to the floor with a clink. As if it is a signal, Squirrel steps backwards, throwing Ana off-balance, making her lose hold of Squirrel's arms. Squirrel spins out of the Negro woman's grip and well out of the reach of her dagger.
"What the hell's wrong with the way I talk?" Squirrel says, too angry to stutter. "Why do you hate it?" But Anamaria isn't paying attention to the cloaked girl. She bends down and picks something off the floor.
"Well, this is a pretty thing." She smiles, turning it over in her fingers. It's a silver coin. Squirrel feels for the cord around her neck, and finds that it has been cut clean through. She gasps, then runs forward and snatches it out of Anamaria's fingers.
The Negro woman smiles slightly at Squirrel. Squirrel quickly hides the coin under her cloak, not letting Ana see where it is hidden.
"A very pretty thing." Ana nods, still smiling. Squirrel looks at the woman in front of her, unsure whether she can consider Ana a friend, or if she should treat Ana as a second Dawn. Before she can make up her mind, though, Ana is out the door, slamming it behind her, the smile still on her face.
Squirrel busies herself with the bandages and healing salve, then falls into an exhausted sleep on the floor, curled up in her cloak. She holds the silver coin tightly in her fingers.