Pirates Of The Caribbean Fan Fiction ❯ Lost in Translation (Pirates of the Caribbean) ❯ Friendship ( Chapter 9 )

Author's Note: PLEASE READ! I'm really sorry about the delay in posting. In late August I got sick and in September I had to undergo a couple of surgeries and tons of tests. I've been diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease, which is a cancer of the lymphatic system, but it's highly curable and hopefully I'll be in remission by March or April.

 

 

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Chapter Nine:

Friendship

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Ana Maria gave a heavy sigh as she continued mindlessly explaining different things on the ship to Kaitlyn. She wasn't a patient person my nature, sailors couldn't afford to make a lot of mistakes, but sailing was calm and it had been Kaitlyn that had come to her so she could see no reason for her to not share her knowledge.

 

She had already gone over the basic parts of the ship and how they were used, though doubting that they'd ever need her to help out. Now she was busy explaining about tacking, a maneuver used to bring a vessel to another bearing by bringing the wind round the bow.

 

“Hear the cap'n say `comin' about' when we do that,” she said then stopped and put her hands on her hips. “Why do you wanna learn all this anyway?” Kaitlyn shrugged at the question.

 

“I feel like I'm in the way most of the time, I would at least like to understand how a ship works,” she replied. Ana Maria nodded, it had taken her a bit of time but she was getting used to having another woman on board the ship. At least Kaitlyn wasn't a typical rich woman, keeping to her self and expecting special treatment, quite the opposite actually.

 

Ana Maria had seen her talking to just about everyone on the ship at one point or another, some more than others. She spent time with the captain now and then and it was funny as hell when she managed to get Gibbs into an uproar. But what surprised Ana Maria was the fact that Kaitlyn didn't seem bothered to speak to Marty. Most well-off people considered people of his height to be freaks and kept their distance from them, sometimes refusing to allow them into ports at all.

 

She had even spent time talking to Cotton, despite his inability to talk back. However, those conversations were ended the time the monkey decided that Mr. Cotton's parrot would be a nice playmate. Never, had the crew experienced the amount of noise that came from the two of them as fur and feathers began flying.

 

Recently though, it had been Ana Maria that Kaitlyn had been spending more and more time with. At first, the attempts to carry on conversations with her where just awkward. She knew nothing about Kaitlyn or the type of life she lived, but quickly found that the differences didn't seem to matter to the other young woman. She just wanted a female companion, and honestly, it wasn't too difficult for Ana Maria to understand why. It's something she, herself, had always wished she could have. But she didn't have skills that could get her an honest job, not that many women had them anyway. She refused to lower herself to living as a whore, even if she would be making her own money and have other women around her. The likelihood of any decent man coming into her life and providing for her was very unlikely. So sailing was her life; it was what she knew, maybe having another woman on the ship wasn't such a bad thing after all.

 

“Why do you live as a pirate anyway, not a lot of women do? If you don't mind me asking, of course,” Kaitlyn said politely.

 

“Always lived on the sea, better than bein' a whore,” she replied. Kaitlyn smiled at the response.

 

“I could never picture you as someone's whore,” she said. Ana Maria turned to look at her, not sure how to take that comment.

 

“Why do you say that?” She asked.

 

“You're smart and you don't let men push you around. I can't picture you just letting them have their way with you,” she said honestly. She respected the way Ana Maria held herself with the crew and could tell she'd never degrade herself that way.

 

“Don't seem like you let men push you around much either,” Ana Maria replied.

 

“None on the ship have tried. Well, besides Gibbs, but I deserved that...mostly,” she said with a smirk.

 

“Aye, you and yer pet do get under his skin from time to time,” Ana Maria said with a bit of a grin before giving the girl a hard look. “Just how long do you intend to stay on the ship anyway?

 

“Jack intends to take me to Port Summers after we've gone to Argate Island for the treasure. Isidro Saez spoke Portuguese, there may be more parchments that I need to translate for him,” Kaitlyn replied, not liking the look that Ana Maria was giving her. “Is something wrong?”

 

“On a first name basis now, I see,” she said then sighed. “Jack Sparrow might not be like most pirates, but he is a man...don't go forgettin' that.” Ana Maria knew all too well that Jack could be charming if he really put his mind to it, and men tended to get lonely at sea. Not to mention that Kaitlyn, herself, didn't have much experience around these kinds of men and might be easily taken advantage of.

 

Kaitlyn felt her self blush then laughed a bit to cover her embarrassment. “You have nothing to worry about, trust me.” Ana Maria nodded, knowing it wouldn't do her any good to pursue that conversation any further, so she changed the subject.

 

“Good thing you've got those clothes, can't exactly work on a ship in a corset.” Kaitlyn glanced down at the rags she was wearing; honestly she'd started to grow used to them. They were quite comfortable and there was no reason to feel ashamed wearing them around the crew.

 

“Corsets aren't so bad, once you're used to them. But your right, you couldn't get much work done in them. I've seen my mother's friends faint before, but my maids were always kind and made sure mine weren't tight enough to do that,” she said smiling. “I was practically raised by a woman named Isabelle, she's in Port Summers; she was our maid for years.”

 

Ana Maria nodded, growing a little more used to talking personally with Kaitlyn. “That's who you're goin' to see, I assume.”

 

“Yes, she's like a mother to me. My father sent her away a couple of years ago...I haven't seen her since,” Kaitlyn said slowly, not really wanting to get into the subject of Isabelle's departing. Instead she looked Ana Maria over then smiled. “You know, I'm standing here in rags...I think it's only fair I should get to see you in a corset.” Instantly gave her a strange look then shook her head.

 

“I'm never getting' into a corset, you'd have to be daft to put one of those things on,” she said.

 

“Oh come on, you can't honestly tell me that you've never wanted to see yourself in a beautiful dress. Every little girl wants to dress up and look pretty and once you become a woman...you want to look like one,” she watched as Ana Maria made her self busy with some crates and could tell she'd struck a nerve so she went silent and looked around for something to do herself.

 

Ana Maria glanced over at Kaitlyn once or twice, not taking herself from her chores. She had to admit that what she'd said was true. As tough as she'd always had to be, she couldn't help seeing women in beautiful clothes and wishing she could look that way. She already knew that no matter what, she could never pass as a lady. No clothes could change the color of her skin or give her the credibility of someone like Kaitlyn. But a part of her had always had a desire to look beautiful and be seen as more than just someone to rut mindlessly with drunken pirates. She looked up again when she heard Kaitlyn's remorseful voice.

 

“I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. It's just that, I think you're very pretty and I'm sure you've never really had a chance to see yourself looking like a woman, living amongst all these men. I wouldn't tell anyone...and...Wanting to look nice doesn't make you weak; it just makes you a woman. You shouldn't be ashamed of that.” Ana Maria looked at her for a moment then glanced around before nodding.

 

“Haven't been around women much, been around whores but never wanted to be like that.” Kaitlyn nodded in understanding then smiled.

 

“Come on. Everyone's busy and we're not needed. Who else would know, I won't tell them,” she said while grinning mischievously. “I swallowed my pride and put on these clothes, you can at least try on a dress.” Ana Maria couldn't help but grin slightly at the look on Kaitlyn's face.

 

“Alright, but if you tell anyone...” she said and pointed threateningly at Kaitlyn who was smiling.

 

“I won't...come on,” she said and headed towards the cabin, followed by Ana Maria. Once inside she laid the dress across the bed. It was one of her nicer dresses, and she was grateful to have it with her now. A sacque back gown and petticoat of such quality could be sold if need be and she imagined Isabelle wouldn't have much money and Kaitlyn herself didn't have anything of value besides the dress with her. Normally, she wouldn't have been wearing something so formal but her family was to have guests the day she had met Dallin and came aboard the Black Pearl.

 

The petticoat was an antique white and faced with gold trim, while the gown itself was a dark green with hints of gold embroidered into it. The bodice was tight fitting and had a small bow at the top, while the bottom quarter of the sleeves where the same antique white as the petticoat. Truly, it was a beautiful dress that would look nice on Ana Maria. She could see the confusion on the other woman and knew she'd have to help her get the garment on. Even Kaitlyn herself needed assistance at times, so she imagined someone that had never tried one on, would be lost.

 

With a wicked grin, Kaitlyn held up the corset first. “I promise I won't let you faint.” It took nearly half an hour to get Ana Maria into the corset and gown, Kaitlyn taking her time to explain it all as she went. Ana Maria remained silent while she worked, still unsure of wearing such heavy and elaborate clothes. Finally Kaitlyn stepped back and looked her over then smirked.

 

“You'll never pass as a lady looking like that,” she said, using Ana Maria's own words. Ana looked down then back at her and Kaitlyn walked over and removed the bandana from her head.

 

“A lady always wears her hair up, it's only proper,” she said sarcastically, having been enjoying her new freedoms since being on the ship. She then walked over and picked up some of her hair combs and came back over. When Ana Maria didn't protest she walked behind her and began pulling her hair back into a simple knot. She didn't exactly have much to work with on a pirate ship, but it would do. After she finished she stepped back and smiled.

 

“You look beautiful,” she said then motioned towards the mirror that was anchored into the corner of the room. Ana Maria regarded it warily then walked over and stared at herself. She'd never imagined there would be a day she'd be in such a dress.

 

“It's...not as bad as I thought it would be,” she admitted reluctantly. The dress was warm and heavy, but not nearly as uncomfortable as it looked and Kaitlyn had kept the corset loose enough to breathe comfortably.

 

“Yes, they're nice for short times but wearing them for long can get old. Once I-” she stopped abruptly when there was a knock at the door.

 

“Just stand over there,” she whispered to Ana Maria, knowing that she didn't want any of the crew to see her in the dress, then she went and opened the door a bit to look out. Jack was standing there and looked at her suspiciously when she didn't open the door any further.

 

“Somethin' wrong, love?” He asked. She looked as guilty as the day she'd brought the monkey onto the ship and lord knows he didn't need any more problems like that.

 

“What? Oh...uh...no,” she said and slipped out, avoiding opening the door more than necessary. “I was just feeding Pepe.”

 

“Really now?” He said with a smirk and reached for the door so she couldn't shut it behind her. Kaitlyn's felt her self blush at the look he was giving her and the fact that his arm was now around her, keeping the door from closing, and he was barely two feet from her.

 

“Yes, I thought it was best he not eat out here, since he likes to throw fruit,” she said nervously.

 

“Ah...well now, amazing how you can feed yer pet when it's been out with me all day, eh love?” He asked. “Just sent him up into the crow's nest when I came to the cabin.” Kaitlyn stared at him for a moment, he seemed more curious than suspicious now and felt her heart quicken when she realized just how close he was standing to her.

 

“You doin' something you don't want me to know about?” He asked while grinning at how easily he could make her blush. He wasn't used to women behaving that way, most he was around where brash and forward and he found that he enjoyed having that kind of an effect on a woman.

 

“No, it's just that...I...was...making something,” she said quickly, simply saying the first thing that came to her mind. Ana Maria rolled her eyes, hearing the entire conversation. It was obvious that the girl wasn't much of a liar, at least not when she was so flustered.

 

“Making something?” Jack asked in an amused voice.

 

“For you,” she said then mentally kicked herself.

 

“Making something for me, eh?” He asked with a chuckle. It was painfully obvious that she was lying and he found it funny.

 

“Yes, you've been so kind and I wanted to show my appreciation.”

 

“Well then, let's go see it, shall we?” He asked and went to pull the door open, only to have her grab it quickly.

 

“No! I mean...it's not...finished yet,” she stumbled over the words only making him grin more.

 

“Ah,” he said then leaned closer to her. “Well, when you're all finished, you just come get me, eh love?” Again he smirked to himself when she turned pink then he released the door.

 

“Think yer monkey's hungry, love...why I came to get you,” he said then chuckled and walked off. Kaitlyn stood there for a moment until her heart slowed then went back into the cabin. Ana Maria had the gown off and was working on the petticoat. She looked up at Kaitlyn then shook her head.

 

“Don't forget what I told ya earlier. He may be a decent man...but he's still a man.” Kaitlyn nodded, knowing more what her friend was talking about then turned back to the door.

 

“I need to go get Pepe,” she said then slipped back out the door. She purposely avoided looking at the helm, knowing Jack would do something to fluster her again, the whole time thinking that now she had to make something for him and had no clue what exactly to make for a pirate. It would certainly be a long and interesting afternoon.