author's note: Thanks to everyone for sticking around for the rest of this story. If you still wanna see more of Jack and Tara, I've started their story. As always, Jack belongs to the mouse.
The Alhambra palace was magnificent, a wonder of Muslim architecture. It was also full of doors. Corridor after corridor, Asher and his men followed Grace as she tried the key in the locks. Had it just been her they had captured, she would have run and lost herself in the mazelike passageways, but four of Asher's thugs dragged Jack and Jonas along as a reminder of what was riding on her success.
Door after door, Grace became more frightened. Asher and his men were becoming more and more impatient, and she was beginning to fear that she might not be able to perform the task at all. She shot a silent prayer heavenward; who knew what would happen to them if that were so. She knew, that was what worried her. Death for Jack and Jonas, and a much worse fate for herself. Her hands shook as she fit the key to the locks.
They reached the end of the final passageway, and still the treasure had not appeared. Asher was livid. "Where is the bloody treasure?" he yelled as he shook her by the shoulders. Grace was about to panic, when she saw one last door at the end of the hall.
"I haven't tried the last door yet." She pointed at the end of the hall.
Asher scowled at her. "Yer daft, girl. There's no door there."
Grace shook him off and went to the door. The key fit perfectly, and the lock turned. She opened the door and all the men behind her muttered exclamations. "Well I'll be…" Asher trailed off, staring past her into the room beyond. Heaped from floor to ceiling were treasures of all kinds: gold, silver, and a myriad of jewels.
They all stared dumbfounded for a moment, then Grace spoke up. "There's you treasure, now let us go."
Asher grabbed her by the arm. "Wait just a minute, missy. Do you really think that ol' Boabdil didn't have this place crawling with booby traps? You're gonna take a little walk around and check things out. Then we'll see about letting you and your friends loose." He gave her a little shove toward the door. She squared her shoulders, and stepped through. When nothing jumped out or fell after the first couple of steps, Grace relaxed a bit and began to really look around her. The sight really was incredible. She paused to run her hand through a pile, feeling the cold metal and stones slide through her fingers.
Once she'd made a full circuit of the large room, she walked back out. She looked at Asher and scowled. "Happy now?" He said nothing, but motioned for his men to enter. They all rushed forward to stuff bags with treasure, leaving Jonas, Jack and Grace standing in the hall. Asher went in last of all, taking one last look back at Grace.
No sooner had Asher stepped through than the door slammed shut with a crash. They heard loud banging from the other side for a moment, then silence as the door faded from view. The three of them gawked at where the door had been, then slowly turned to look at each other. They all stared blankly for a moment, then a slow smile spread across Grace and Jonas' faces. Grace quickly untied Jonas' hands and was caught up in a warm embrace. Jonas looked down at her and smiled, then finally pulled her in for that kiss.
Jack let them have their moment, then coughed. "Ahem, some of us are still tied up, Gracie."
Grace blushed a little and turned to untied Jack's ropes. "Sorry Uncle Jack."
Jack rubbed his wrists and scowled. "Well, we're rid of the miscreants, but why'd they have to take the treasure with 'em?"
Grace smirked and reached into the sash of her takshita. "They didn't take all of the treasure." She pulled out a handful of gems and gold.
Now it was Jack's turn to hug Grace. "Thatagirl, Gracie! I always knew there had to be a little pirate in ya!"
Jonas sifted through the small pile in her palm and picked up a medium-sized diamond. "Hmm, I wonder if this would make a nice ring?" He looked at Grace slyly. She looked back at him and raised an eyebrow. He shrugged and grinned. "Well, it's a thought." He looked over at Jack, and for the first time since his mother's death, actually smiled at him. "Come on, Da, let's go find our way back to the ship." With that, Jonas and Grace turned to walk away, out of the palace.
Jack stood there dumbfounded for a moment, watching their backs. "He just called me Da… my son just called me Da." A smile spread across his face, and he followed them.
Thanks for reading! Leave a review if you liked! If you want to seee what happens to Grace and Jonas, hop on over to TYFFN's page and check out the story "When Grace Met 'Lace", a story we're currently co-authoring. Bon chance and happy sailing!
