Pirates of the Caribbean 2: the Spirit of the Dead
Disclaimer: Don't own anything except for Cimorene and this plot.
A/N: Okay, so I haven't updated in a while, but this spring break I resolved to do so at least once.
Chapter 18: Blacksmiths and Sword Fighting Skill
"So…trying to talk to our mother…" said Cimorene, looking uneasy. "Trying to calm her down…"
"Is useless," the maid finished firmly.
ANAMARIA
This story was told to Jack, his face arranging into many different facial expressions every once in a while, and he squawked out loud when he learned that their mother believed that Anamaria was the cause of her husband's death.
"So you see," Cimorene said, mood darkened. "It isn't really easy to talk about our past, as it's…"
"Really difficult," finished Anamaria. "Not to mention really messed up."
"I can tell," Jack muttered, looking away for a brief instant. Anamaria and Cimorene both looked rather flushed after sharing this memory with Jack; Ana becoming a little more red-ish, and Cimorene with pink dancing across her pale cheeks.
"But what happened to your mother?" Jack questioned, looking back and forth between the two of them. "Where is she now? Is she—"
"She's dead," Anamaria answered. "She died a while back. Apparently one of the maids left her for a while in the bathtub and she drowned herself. We're not sure if it was on purpose or not."
"So then her house, belongings, and money were left to me, being the eldest and all," Cimorene continued, fiddling with a pillow. "I left her house, checking up on it every once in a while. Her belongings; I mostly auctioned off, but some I keep in this house. And as for her money…" she gestured around the room, which had various paintings and pottery pieces in it. "Well, I put it to good use, buying myself a house and filling it with silly things. I've gotten a little smarter since then, and so I've gotten a little job at the bar…" Cimorene eyed Jack with a twinkle in her eye. "Where you used to meet Gisele…"
Jack rolled his eyes.
"Anyway, I've been trying not to use up all the money. She was quite wealthy, but only because of my father. I've seen you a fair few times there, Jack. And I noticed that you seem to have something going with the ladies over there." Cimorene smirked. Jack looked sort of bewildered.
"You work as one of those behind the counter?" he questioned, interest skipping across his features.
"Yes," Cimorene answered. "But not as one of the prostitutes, like Gisele."
Jack turned to Anamaria.
"And you?" he asked.
"The day we learned that our mother died," Ana began slowly, glancing over at Cimorene. "Was the day that Cimorene and I parted. She left to come here, to Port Royal and see to our mother's house. It was from Chantal herself that the news came. As you can imagine, both Cimorene and I were shocked. I didn't want to accompany her to Port Royal, because I didn't want to see the house, or attend Mother's funeral. If I did that, I would have to accept that she was really gone. This way I could go on pretending. So I stayed in Tortuga, drinking all the rum that I could both handle and pay for. That was when you found me, Jack."
"No wonder you were so pissed off that day," said Jack, flashing a half smile that made Anamaria feel like toppling over.
"But there's another thing I'd like to know," Jack said, staring directly at Anamaria.
"Fire away," Anamaria said, sitting back in her seat and picking up a squashy pillow to rest her head on.
"How did you get so good with a sword?" asked Jack, leaning forward with a sparkle in his eyes.
"You learn a lot of things in Tortuga," Anamaria answered vaguely, rubbing a mosquito bite on her arm.
"I've found that out on my own," Jack said, still staring at Anamaria closely as if she was some kind of an unknown species and he was a scientist.
"Do tell, Ana," Cimorene said, smiling. "I've been waiting to hear this myself."
"A girl," Anamaria began, looking as if she really didn't want to tell the story. "From the orphanage in Tortuga."
"Oh," said Cimorene, shocked. "Do you mean…are you talking about Kate?"
"Yeah," said Anamaria, smiling and giving a tiny giggle.
"Kate? I thought the orphanage—" Jack said, a confused frown crossing his face.
"Kate was our friend from our first day in Tortuga's orphanage; she was the only person around our age, not to mention the only girl. When Cimorene went to go and see to our mother's house after she died, I was about nineteen, and Cimorene was twenty-one. Kate and I left Tortuga together and met a blacksmith, who was in need of an apprentice, mostly to help him because he was getting a bit old. Kate and I agreed to help him—if only we could sleep in the shop and eat for free. He agreed, and that's how I got into the sword-fighting business. The blacksmith was Kate's uncle, and that's how we knew where to go."
"Kate had an uncle?" asked Cimorene, her eyebrows knitting together. "But then why was she at the orphanage with us?"
"He wouldn't take her," Anamaria shrugged. "When we got there, he didn't recognize her. All that time he didn't know she was his niece."
"I think that's enough past-telling for the day," Cimorene cut in, peering out the window, which was extremely dark. She got up and pulled the curtains closed.
"But I—" Jack protested, standing up.
"NO buts," Cimorene cut in, whirling around to face him.
"All right," Jack muttered, looking down (as he was unused to having a woman controlling him).
Hmm, except for Anamaria, right? (wink, wink)
A/N: Okay, so, I admit, that was a rather useless filler chapter. BUT! I'm getting to the good stuff right after this one. I'm bringing Will and Elizabeth back, and Jack's dreams are continuing. So PLEASE MAKE ME HAPPY, AND REVIEW! :)
To my great reviewers:
paige: Thanks! And I finally updated!
Anamaria's Lil' Sidekick: Thank you bunches. :) The schoolwork is going okay…and I just might lose mine as well…hahaha.
Elvra: I love you.
williz: I ABSOLUTELY LOVE YOU! I think you're the only reviewer that's been with this story since the beginning, so thanks for that!
Ashlyns: Thanks. :) I don't know about soon, but I updated!