A Pirate's Life for Me

Chapter 6 Tortuga

Annalise left to tidy up and find something a little more suitable to wear than her shift, leaving the two men on the deck. There weren't too many choices, but she found a Navy white shirt and breeches that weren't too bad. The shirt was a little large on her, but after she bandaged her chest underneath, she didn't feel it was that bad or revealing in any way.

The breeches were slightly large, but a belt kept it cinched at her hips and that was all she really needed. The only problem was shoes, as she'd been barefoot the entire time, but some scouring resulted in a pair of boots that weren't too big on her. She still needed to stuff them with socks, but it wasn't unmanageable and would have to do until they made port.

Annalise returned back onto the deck, satisfied with her changes for the moment, to see Will sharpening his sword on the main deck while Jack wandered around, staring at the open sea. Will seemed to be glancing at Jack every so often, as though wanting to speak but also hesitant to broach a subject.

He glanced over at the sound of her boots, and Will blinked as he stared at Annalise. Her outfit was far from flattering, and her hair was wilder than he'd ever seen it as it flowed freely behind her, and yet he hadn't seen her look this happy and almost relaxed in a very long time.

It reminded him of when they were younger, when Annalise had complained about the pretty dresses and often secretly borrowed his breeches when they dueled in Brown's blacksmith shop. That had ended when they'd gotten old enough that Annalise realized how awkward the request was for Will, but he knew she'd always secretly missed being able to move as freely as she did when wearing breeches.

"Now look who's staring." Jack commented, and Will blinked before he scowled at Jack.

"I was not." He argued, and Jack snorted: "Sure you weren't."

"I think Will was reminiscing more about when we were younger." Annalise remarked as she walked over to sit beside Will, grinning at him good-naturedly.

He smiled a little back, nodding, and Annalise mused as she glanced around the ship thoughtfully: "This does take me back even more, though. It's been so long since I was on a ship."

"You've never travelled, lass?" Jack asked in surprise, and Annalise smiled as she shook her head.

"I made the crossing from England when I was twelve." She explained. "I travelled with my father a little bit before that, but he's never really enjoyed it so we stopped after we came out here."

Jack whistled, shaking his head in disbelief. For a pirate and sea-lover like him, it was impossible to imagine being parted from life at sea for that long.

Annalise had to smile at that, before she turned to Will as he began slowly: "That was my first and last voyage too."

"When we met?" Annalise asked, intrigued, and Jack also glanced between them as Will nodded.

"It seems so long ago, that we found you on the crossing from England." Annalise mused, leaning back.

But at her words, a look crossed Jack's face though he hid it quickly as he turned away from them and busied himself with checking the ship again. Both Annalise and Will caught it, and they exchanged looks. There it had been again, Jack's strange reaction to Will's past and heritage.

Annalise nodded at Will, and she leant back as Will began: "Before I met the Swanns, I lived in England, where my mother raised me by herself. After she died, I came out here, looking for my father."

He looked pointedly at Jack, who just replied noncommittally: "Is that so?"

He turned away again, heading up back towards the sterncastle deck, but Will persisted as he trailed after Jack, saying determinedly: "My father, Will Turner. At the jail, it was only after you learned my name that you agreed to help us. Since that's what I wanted, I didn't press the matter."