Drabble Series; 'An Execrable Business' (20/?)

[dwgm]

500 words of the story, theme: 'Cross'. Many thanks to hereswith for beta reading, editing, and suggestions.

Previous bits...

1. Tortuga
2. Happiness
3. Festive
4. Last Minute
5. Calm
6. Truth
7. Bargain
8. Spook
9. Down
10. Wounds
11. Moon
12. Monsters
13. Beauty
14. Name
15. History
16. Service
17. Advice
18. Captain
19. Awe

And here's today's...
20. Cross



~ An Execrable Business, continued...

Anamaria was not smiling.

You take care of her for me, Jack had said, and hadn’t she done it? Ana had kept her eye on Nell all that long day up at the springs, and the girl had neither run off, nor been in any sort of danger. Washing day, a weekly event, included both bodies and clothing, but the locals knew enough to stay away as there was always a guard set, armed with a serviceable machete. The women could swim and sun and gossip to their hearts’ content after the clothes were washed, and they took full advantage of this freedom.

Nell had been viewed with some suspicion at first, but not for long when they found out she belonged to Jack Sparrow. After that, Ana’s sisters had gleefully taken charge. Nell had been stripped in a trice and led into the wide pool to bathe while her filthy boy’s clothes were scrubbed and even pounded with rocks to get them clean. Nell had been first startled, then pleased to be scrubbed top to toe, and had liked Ana’s sisters just fine. Constanze and Maribelle told Nell all about Jack Sparrow and his adventures, piratical and otherwise. They’d even shooed Ana away at certain points, but Nell’s wide eyes and red cheeks gave Ana an idea of what they were saying.

Nell was lively and pretty, that couldn’t be denied, and Jack didn’t. He looked like he’d been knocked acock when he finally saw her, and it didn’t get much better as the sun set and night fell. He and Nell helped to prepare food, ate together, then sat listening to stories, or dancing with the others. Ana had watched all this from the shadows, watched how Jack had studied Nell’s every move, even hung on her words and laughter and, when the evening drew to a close, how Jack had spread a blanket for the two of them on the sand. They lay down on half of it and pulled the other half over, and whispered together for a long time before they settled to sleep.

Ana ground her teeth.

There was nothing Ana could do, no one she could talk to. Everyone would laugh if they knew how she felt. But she couldn’t sleep, and lay looking up at the mindless stars, reliving the day whether she would or no. And it seemed she was the only other person awake when Nell eased herself from the blanket and padded off in the direction of the privy.

Ana debated, then got up and followed. You take care of her for me. Well, she would.

She hurried to catch up, but when she was almost there she heard a sharp, short yelp, and the sound of heavy feet, and some thrashing. Bending low, she ran to where she could see. There were two men, and they had Nell, gagged and slumped between them, half-fainting it looked like, and they were moving off as fast as ever they could.



TBC…

Comments

[compassrose7577.livejournal.com]

Ah, ha! The plot thickens, on several levels!

Snuggling, eh? Did anyone think to bring the bundling board? No, I suppose not. Well, after all, Jack is almost like a brother.... almost... kinda... right?

Has anyone told Ana she's cute when she fumes? No, that's probably not what she would want to hear either.

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

It was great writing little!Ana for this. She's a great character at any age. :) Thank you, again, for commenting.