Ash finished her bath, dressed, and went back downstairs with her wine. Rose went to find a client, and Ash sat down across from Jack again, who still had the two women with him.
"So, how was your experience?" Jack asked.
Smiling as she remembered her bath, she answered, "Amazing."
"Ah, see? Told you so."
"Ash! Come join us!" someone called.
She looked over and saw some of the crew gesturing to her from across the room. Ash readily took her bottle and went over to them. She didn't even notice when Jack and his two women left, she was busy drinking, playing cards, and laughing with her friends. She got so sloshed that night, she didn't remember half of it the next morning. When she woke, she reluctantly went to see to the supplies they needed on board before their departure, which went smoothly. Ash stood on the upper deck, leaning over the rail and watching Tortuga get smaller in the distance. She almost wished they had stayed. Almost.
"Missing Rose already, Ash?" Jack queried.
Suppressing a sigh, she turned and observed him for a moment. He stood with his back to her, looking forward, outline by the sun. His feet were planted solidly on the deck. His shoulders were back, his chest out, and his head held high, his hands holding the helm gently but firmly. Idly, Ash wondered what his rough palms would feel like on her soft, tender skin. Then she shook her head to banish the thought from her mind.
"Not really," she said, "I'm surprised you didn't badger me for every detail afterwards."
"I know how you feel about talk of 'making sex'," he said, half seriously and half mocking, "I won't press you about it."
That was surprising. He didn't used to have such restraint. He used to pester her about anything and everything he could get out of her. Ash wasn't sure where this new found respect for her boundaries came from, but she appreciated it. For the next couple weeks, they enjoyed smooth sailing. Ash tinkered away in the galley even when she wasn't making meals, working on medicines to be used in the event of an emergency. One night, she woke to shouts and her tiny room full of smoke.
Ash rolled out of her hammock and literally hit the deck. Staying low, she crawled over to the door, digging into the deck with her knees and elbows. It was painful, but necessary. She put a hand to the door and found it was too hot. Fire was on the other side. Which, when you're on a wooden vessel in the middle of the sea, is the most terrifying thing ever. She took a deep breath and forced herself to stay calm. There was no way out except for directly in front of her. From the sound of things, the crew was racing to get the fire under control, but would they be in time?
She called out, hoping to get a status update from someone, but got no answer. Ash cursed and went over her options. She had to get out, but that might mean going directly into the path of the fire. First, she took her shirt off and put on the corset, then replaced her shirt, working on her knees. Then she grabbed the blanket from her hammock and used it as a barrier between her hand and the door knob, which was warm. Realizing she was about to do something incredibly stupid, she opened the door slowly. Sure enough, a fire raged on the other side. Jahir was across the fire, and when he saw her face, his eyes filled with concern.
"Captain my captain!" he called.
"I'm okay, for now," she answered, "How's it coming?"
"Not good," he answered, tense.
"Okay," Ash said, taking a deep breath.
She wished she had fresh water in the room with her. She could dunk her blanket in it and make a run for it. But most of the fresh water on board had been mixed with alcohol, citrus juice, and other assorted things to keep it fresh-ish, which would only make the blanket catch fire easier. As things stood, she might have to run for it anyway. Her options were garbage. She could close the door and wait for the crew to put the fire out, but who knew how far it reached or how long that would take. If she waited, she ran the risk of suffocating to death by the smoke, which would kill her before the flames could reach her. Cursing under her breath, Ash put the blanket over her head so it hung in equal lengths on all sides of her body.
"Just stand in the middle of the passageway!" she called to Jahir, "I'm going to run for it! When I run into you I'll know I've gone far enough!"
After a second or so to gather her nerves, she ran straight ahead. There was intense heat all around her, and then she ran into Jahir. She threw the blanket off of her immediately, which had already caught fire. It tangled around her arm for a few seconds, and Ash screamed at the pain as she worked to get it off. Once it was burning on the floor, a stream of curses poured from her lips. One reason was because her right arm was mildly burned but hurt like hell, another was because her sleeve had burned away and had ruined her shirt, and the third was because she was now without a blanket.
"Son of a biscuit eater!" she swore.
Her arm bloody hurt! It was bright red and had blisters on it. Wonderful. She knew from experience even a small superficial burn could take from days to weeks to fully heal, and she wasn't looking forward to the extended pain and inconvenience. But there were other things to worry about at the moment, so she shoved the pain into a corner of her mind and firmly ignored it so she could help the crew extinguish the fire. It took a while, and when they were finished, they all went above deck for fresh air and to simply sit. Jack, however, had no interest in sitting. He was without his hat and coat, and covered in soot like the rest of them. His expression was murderous. Ash paled under her coating of black soot as he came straight for her, and she jumped to her feet in case she had to run or jump overboard to escape his wrath.
"What was that!" he shouted at her.
Ash was confused. What was he talking about? The fire? How should she know anything about it? She was asleep when it started!
"Captain?" she asked uncertainly.
"It started in the galley, lad," he fumed, "Which you have charge of. So tell me, what happened that you nearly burned my ship to splinters!"
Ash's eyes widened, and her mouth opened and closed like a fish's. She was completely certain everything was squared away before she went to bed, as it was every night.
"Captain, I – I don't know," she said helplessly.
"You don't know!" he shouted sarcastically, "Well, until you do know, perhaps time on night watch in the crow's nest will help jog your memory, aye?"
"Aye aye, captain," she said numbly, feeling her cheeks heat up in embarrassment.
He turned on his heel and stormed off, and she sunk back onto the crate she'd been sitting on, dazed. She was alive. The crew was staring at her, but she hardly noticed.
"For a moment I thought he'd keel haul ye," Gibbs commented.
Ash expelled a shaky breath.
"So did I," she confessed.
Jack valued his ship more than anything. If he thought it was in danger, he wouldn't hesitate to kill anyone responsible. So why had she gotten off with extra watches instead of death? She was so deep in thought, she forgot everything else. Jahir had to point out her injuries. That pulled her out of it enough to get the burn salve she had in her room. She applied it liberally, not only to herself but to others that were burned. After that, she wrapped the burns in bandages, to maximize the effect of the salve and keep the wounds from further harm. Once that was done, everyone else went to sleep. Ash stayed up, since she now had the night watch, and climbed to the crow's nest.
At first, she wasn't tired. But as the hours wore on, the lack of sleep began to tell on her, and she had to fight to stay awake. At last, the sun peeked above the horizon, and she heard Jack's voice calling for her. Peering down at the deck, she saw him standing there. Slowly, she climbed down, extra careful not to miss a step and fall in her exhausted state. Once she was safely on the deck, Jack ordered her to get breakfast ready, if she could with the mess the galley was. Ash hung her head, unable to look him in the eyes.
"Aye aye, captain," she mumbled, turning away and trudging below deck dejectedly.
This was the first time she got a good look at the damage done to the galley. It was a scorched, blackened shell. She took a moment to stare in shock. There was no way she caused this. She was so sure everything was as it should have been before she went to bed. Slowly, she went about getting breakfast ready, pondering over the problem in her mind as her hands moved automatically. She thought over the routine she had went through in the galley just last night, how every little thing had been in order. The crew streamed in, yawning after a night of little sleep, and Ash served them, then took a tray up to Jack. His voice was curt when he granted her permission to enter. She set the tray down in front of him and paused for a moment, wondering if she should tell him what she was thinking. But no, she had no proof. It wouldn't do any good, and bringing up the subject now would only arouse his anger further. Best give him time to cool off and her to figure things out.
So she stepped away and went below deck to gobble down her own breakfast, and fall into her hammock for some sleep. She estimated she only managed a few hours before Jahir was shaking her awake for lunch. Shaking her head to clear it, she dragged herself into the galley and made lunch, ate her own share, and went to scrub her face clean of the soot she'd forgotten about in her exhaustion. Then she took food up to Jack. When she stepped into his quarters, she saw the middle of the room was cleared as it always was for sword lessons. She set the tray on the table pushed against the wall, and looked at him quizzically. She had thought he wouldn't want anything to do with her after last night. But she said nothing, and simply waited for him to eat his food.
When he finished, he stood and drew his sword, so Ash did the same. But it quickly became apparent she never should have engaged in lessons that day. His eyes blazed with fury as they fought, his blows were harder, they came faster, until his sword was a blur in the air and every collision of their blades jarred her very bones. He was fighting to kill. Fighting panic, she backed away, fully on defense now, barely able to keep up enough to block his strikes. Eventually, he had her backed against the wall, and shortly after that, he knocked the sword from her hands and held the tip of his blade to her throat. Eyes wide, Ash held up her hands to shoulder height, panting for breath. His eyes flashed, and the blade pressed a bit deeper into her throat, nearly drawing blood. Then he turned abruptly and threw his sword across the room, as if hurling it at some unseen enemy. It buried itself point first in the opposite wall, quivering. Ash closed her eyes and let out a breath, sinking down to the deck, suddenly unable to support herself on her shaking legs.
"Damn you," Jack said quietly, his voice hoarse.
Ash opened her eyes and saw he was turned with his back still to her, his head lowered. Swallowing, she forced herself to her feet.
"Captain?"
"I should kill you," he said, still not looking at her, "I would, if you were anyone else. But I can't. What is it about your big aqua eyes that makes me unable to close them for good?"
Ash's mouth was hanging open at this point, she was so shocked. Was she supposed to have an answer? She didn't.
"Captain, I..."
"Just go," he said.
She went. She was shaking from her near death experience, and was thrown into such a state of unrest that she wasn't sure where to go or what to do. Pacing around the deck in a frenzy, Gibbs eventually had to come over to her and mention he had concerns of her wearing down the boards. Letting out a breath, she sat down nearby.
"I don't understand," she said, without really expecting an answer or meaning to speak in the first place.
"What? That he hates ye for almost burning down his ship?" Gibbs asked, a touch of sarcasm in his tone, as if he thought her an idiot for not comprehending something so obvious.
"I could have sworn I didn't, though," Ash replied, agitated, "I checked everything. I always do. It's become second nature to me. I know better, I know the dangers of fire aboard a ship. I couldn't have left something to cause a hazard."
Gibbs didn't speak for a few moments. When he did, his voice was guarded.
"If ye swear to that, there's only one other explanation. Someone aboard did this deliberately."
Ash looked at him, horrified. Who would betray them like that? Setting fire on purpose to a ship was... unthinkable. But it made sense, the more she thought of it. If it started in the galley, the culprit could be sure the blame would fall on Ash and not them.
"But why?" she mused, "What was the purpose? To burn the whole ship down and strand us at sea? Doubtful, since whoever did this would be in the same situation as his victims. More likely they meant for a single target. But who? Me? After all, if I hadn't escaped when I did, I would have been the first life the fire claimed."
"Hard to say, lad," Gibbs responded, "I can't see anyone on board wanting ye dead. No one has complained of ye, or the food. A man would have to be mad to get on the cook's bad side, anyway."
Ash sighed and went about her business the best she could. Her eyes were sharp on every member of the crew that night at dinner. One of them was a traitor, she knew it. Taking Jack his tray became a painful experience. He didn't look at her or acknowledge her in any way, which was worse than if he had screamed at her. She couldn't plead with him to do so either. For one, the words stuck in her throat and wouldn't come out. And besides, what could she say? Someone sabotaged her? He would ask who, and why, and she didn't have answers to those questions, nor any evidence to support them, so it would seem a flimsy, desperate defense against his anger, which would only enhance it more. There had to be a way to find who did this. Days passed, Jack continued his stony silence, and Ash continued her night watches and sleeping as much as possible during the day. After about a week of this, Gibbs noticed.
"He still hasn't let ye off night watches?" he asked.
"No," Ash yawned.
"I've never seen him this angry for this long," Gibbs said, shaking his head.
Ash didn't answer. The lack of sleep was beginning to tell on her, and she wondered how long she could keep this up. At the moment, her greatest fear was that she would fall asleep on watch, Jack would find out, and kick her off his crew. There had to be a way to find who started that fire. Perhaps, if it was her they were after, making herself a target would flush out the traitor. That wouldn't be hard. She usually had another person on night watch with her. It was a two man job, but if she told her partner that night to go below and sleep, the fire starter would notice his entrance and know she was alone on deck. To make it more enticing, she would leave her rifle and sword in her room. But she didn't have the authority to order another crew member to abandon his post while on watch, as punishments for doing so were severe. She couldn't tell Jack about this, he had no trust in her anymore. So she went to Gibbs and told him of her plan. He was reluctant, but ultimately gave permission. He'd tell her watch partner to do as she said for the night. For most of the day Ash rested, interrupted here and there by meals. When time for her watch came, she left her weapons in her room and went up on the main deck, where she found Andrew waiting.
"I'd have brought my instrument, but if the captain hears he might get upset," the musician told her.
"More than he already is, you mean," Ash said dryly.
He looked sheepish, but nodded.
"Yeah."
So instead of enjoying music for their long watch, they sat and talked instead. A couple hours before sun up, Ash told Andrew to go below deck and get some sleep. He gave her a half suspicious, half knowing look.
"Just be careful, whatever you're about," he said quietly, "Mr. Gibbs wouldn't tell me exactly, but... I think I know."
She watched him go below deck, reflecting that if he had been the one to start the fire, he would have made a move in the hours they'd been alone on deck in the middle of the night. It wasn't him, or any of the other's she'd had watch with that week. She paced around, waiting to get jumped. Even though Ash knew it was coming, she couldn't shake the feeling of dread. For an hour or so, nothing happened, and the sky was starting to lighten. Ash was starting to think the traitor wouldn't show, but when she turned back towards the bow to begin her pacing track anew, John was standing near the hatch leading below decks.
"What are you doing here, John?" she asked calmly.
"You're unarmed," he said, "That's a mistake. Dangerous place, this is."
"Really?" Ash replied dryly, arching one eyebrow, "You going to come at me straight this time, no fire traps?"
"Aye," he answered, drawing his sword.
"Why?" she asked, "I'm not aware I've done anything to offend you."
"You're his little favorite, aren't you?" he sneered, coming closer.
Ash couldn't help it. She felt her lips tug into a smirk.
"Aww, are you jealous?" she taunted, "What, you wanted him for yourself, and I got in the way? I don't want him, just so you know. If he wants you, I won't get in your way."
"You little shit!" he snapped, swinging the blade at her.
Ash jumped back, then spun behind the mast. His swing was wild, and the blade buried deep in the wood she'd taken shelter behind seconds before.
While he was struggling to get it free, Ash drew a dagger from her sleeve, coming around the other side of the mast behind him. John glanced over his shoulder and kicked at her, catching her in the stomach and sending her back against the rail, almost launching her overboard. He jerked his sword free and swung over head and down at her. Ash rolled away and came up a couple yards away, hurling her knife at him, which he dodged. She drew the other dagger from her other sleeve as she set herself to face him again.
"It's not fair!" he shouted at her, "He takes you under his wing, teaches you what he won't share with the rest of us! What makes you so special?"
"Why don't you ask him?" she asked, annoyed.
Whatever his feelings, she felt it was something he and the captain should work out. She had nothing to do with it! If he wanted to learn things, why didn't he go to Jack and speak up like a man, instead of get jealous like a petty girl and take it out on her? She drew another dagger from her boot as he advanced on her. Crossing her blades, she caught his next swing on them, but he twisted his grip and yanked viciously, pulling the daggers right out of her hands. She backed away rapidly as he swung again, and started sweating when the very tip of his sword opened a long, thin bloody line across her collarbone. She had to end this, and she was left with one dagger.
"I didn't ask for his attention!" she protested, twirling behind the mast again.
"It isn't like that!" John told her, "It's just not fair you get extra consideration, and we don't!"
"Then go tell him that! Stop trying to kill me, I've got nothing to do with this!"
He didn't listen. On he came. Before she could spin away again, he reached out and grabbed her shoulder, pinning her to the mast and raising his sword to thrust into her chest. Ash's eyes had time to widen, but that was all. There was no way she could reach her final knife still in her other boot. But before he could end her life, a strong tanned hand grabbed his wrist, stopping the steel from entering her.
"Not on my ship, lad."
It was Jack. While John's attention was distracted, Ash brought her knee up and grabbed the dagger from her boot, which she then drove into his neck. She yanked sideways viciously, cutting his throat deep. Blood spurted out from the wound, then poured down his body as his eyes lost their light, and his body went limp. Jack released his wrist, letting him drop to the deck. Ash shuddered and leaned against the mast, realizing she was trembling. She looked up at Jack, dazed, noticing the sun was just coming up.
"Captain – " she began, without knowing what she was going to say. Luckily, he interrupted her.
"I heard shouting," he said, "Was up already, so don't say you're sorry for waking me."
Ash nodded and looked down at the body. Jack followed her glance, then eyed her up and down.
"I take it he set the fire?" he said mildly.
"Aye."
"Well then..."
His tone made her look at him. His eyes weren't on her face, but on her collarbone, and there was a little furrow between his brows.
"Glad you're okay," he said gruffly, looking back up into her eyes.
Ash's lips parted slightly, and she frowned, confused. Why was he – ? Then her entire body went stiff as his lips brushed hers. Her eyes went wide, and her brain scrambled. What was he doing?! Startled, she put a hand on his chest and pushed him back, looking into his eyes like a frightened doe.
"Captain," she said, blushing furiously and struggling to get her thoughts in order, "I – I have to go get breakfast ready. Excuse me, please."
He didn't say anything, he didn't try to stop her. He just stood there staring after her as she practically fled below deck.
Author's Note: Fire on ships = a big problem, even today. But back when ships had sails and were made of wood... well. Still, at least they didn't have synthetic lines, which if stretched more than 40-65% of their original length, part and snap back with deadly force, enough to rip a person in half. You can find videos about that, if you don't believe me. Anyway, please review, Christmas is right around the corner and reviews are the best presents! Thank you!