Over the next few months, Jahir and Ash settled into life in Tortuga. Rose was surprised to find her there, and she had to tell her what happened. Rose made sympathetic noises while Ash drank herself under a table. Her heavy drinking became a common occurrence, so Jahir knew to be nearby to carry her half unconscious body back to their room. Ash's back healed without a single scar, to her intense surprise. She attributed it to being young and Jahir's early start in taking care of it. If he hadn't started treating her injuries almost as soon as they happened, she doubted her back would have healed so well. In order to get money, they adopted the arrangements they had at Shipwreck Island. Jahir would catch fish, selling what they didn't eat, and Ash made it known that she was good at... solving problems. It wasn't just healing that people came to her for now, she also told fortunes, found missing items, solved theft, interpreted dreams, made charms and amulets, and much more. Her reputation spread, and soon people were coming from all over to seek her services. What they weren't expecting when they finally met her was firstly how small she was, and secondly, that she was usually at least half drunk.

And then Ash got a visit from the Rogue, king of the island's thieves, which was apparently a very different thing from the Pirate King. Not that she cared who ruled what, it had nothing to do with her. He wanted her to carry a message to Captain Teague in Shipwreck Island, and negotiate a trade agreement between the two havens.

"Why should I do that?" Ash asked.

"I'll give you a percentage of the trade that comes into Tortuga," the Rogue replied, "Such a salary would make you comfortable for the rest of your life."

Ash sighed. Money. He offered her money. She had been hoping for something a little more original.

"Very well," she drawled, bored already, "I suppose I have nothing better to do. You'll supply the ship to get me there and supplies to last two people for the journey there and back, of course."

"Certainly."

He went to get things ready for their departure, and Ash made her way back from the tavern to her current abode. Jahir was surprised to hear of the plan when she entered their room and started packing a bag. The sudden flurry of activity stopped suddenly, and silence filled the room. He looked over and saw her staring down at the bag she had stuffed with her personal necessities.

"Captain my captain?"

"The last bag I had was made of a net," she said in a quiet tone, and it wasn't clear if she was speaking to him or to herself.

She had fashioned it out of an old, spare net from a dockworker, before she joined Jack's crew. All of her old possessions were still on the Black Pearl, assuming he hadn't gotten rid of them. The only thing she had from before was the rifle Jahir had given her so long ago. Scowling suddenly and shaking her head to clear it, she stuffed her belongings into her new pack, a sturdy brown canvas material. She would not think of Jack.

"Come on," she said shortly to Jahir, "The Rogue has our ship waiting for us."

Even her hat was new, a wide brimmed piece to protect her fair skin from the sun, with a ridiculously large plume purely for decoration. Jack preferred his weathered tricorn, which didn't offer much in the way of protection and explained why he was so tanned.

Stop it, Ash scolded herself, He's in the past. You'll probably never see him again, and if you did, it would be too soon.

She and Jahir made their way to the docks, where they found a small sloop waiting for them, fully stocked with supplies. They settled in together, and Ash had a long look over the map that had been provided. Glancing around at the sails and the lines, she stuffed down her uncertainties viciously. She could do this. She had seen Jack work his ship thousands of times before, and this one was much smaller than the Black Pearl. They could easily handle it between the two of them. If only she could remember how to get the blasted ship out to sea. Pulling out of port and then back in were the hardest parts of sailing.

Ash closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, trying to remember Jack's voice, the sequence in which he called orders, and the result that the crew brought about. Finally, after a few long minutes, she opened her eyes and gave the first order. Working together, she and Jahir successfully got their little sloop away from the docks, the sails full of wind and speeding the ship along. Ash checked the map, making quick calculations that would have taken a lesser mind far longer. Adjusting the helm slightly, she relaxed. Her feet were braced a shoulder's width apart, her shoulders back, head up. She didn't realize it was the exact same position Jack settled into when he sailed. For hours, her mind wandered, until the sun set and Jahir asked if he should take over. Ash debated the question for a minute or so, then nodded, moving away from her position at the helm to claim a spot on the deck to sleep. The sloop was so small, there was only one deck, the main one. Wrapping herself in a blanket, Ash closed her eyes and let the rocking of the ship lull her to sleep.

Over the next couple weeks of sailing, Jahir noticed his captain had the best, most solid sleep without the use of alcohol he had witnessed since the incident with Sparrow. He suspected she had been on Sparrow's ship for so long, and had felt so at home there, that being on land was hard on her, even if she consciously didn't recognize it. She was stubborn that way, he knew, and tough. To anyone that didn't know her, they might think she was handling the events that had taken place months ago well. But he knew better. His little captain might be good at concealing it, putting on a stoic face, but deep inside she was far from over it.

When they finally docked at Shipwreck Island, there was a welcoming committee waiting for them. Ash and Jahir disembarked, and she declared who she was and who she was there to see. The pirates looked at each other doubtfully, but they were more than happy to escort her to Captain Teague, if only to watch him throw the small woman out on her ear. To their surprise, he did nothing of the sort. In fact, Captain Teague welcomed her, and dismissed the men that had brought her to him. Jahir stood by the door, while Ash went over and sat across from Teague at at table while he poured her a glass of wine.

"I remember you prefer this to rum," he said, handing it over to her.

She raised the glass in salute and took a sip, making an appreciative noise.

"You left very suddenly," he said, "And your hair is shorter than it used to be, but I suspect it's grown a bit since your departure from this island."

Ash looked up at him, and saw he was staring at her very pointedly. He knew, then, that she had concealed herself as a man and left to sail with his son. She hadn't revealed her plans to him before she went, either. The old salt was sharp. Still, if he thought she'd crack that easily, he had another thing coming to him. She took another sip of her wine and remained silent. The quiet grew for a few minutes, until he finally spoke again.

"What happened between you and Jackie?"

Ash didn't answer right away, staring down at her glass and twirling it slowly on the tabletop by the stem.

"He found out," she said quietly.

"Ah," Teague nodded, sitting back in his seat slowly, "Why does it seem like there's more to it than you're telling?"

"There might be," Ash responded, "But it's none of your business. And I didn't come here to talk about him. I came to discuss a trade agreement between you and the Rogue of Tortuga."

"I see. Interesting."

They talked, ate, and drank for the next few hours. At last, Teague offered them a place to stay while they were there, which they accepted. He had someone show them to the place, which was stocked with food, water, and of course, alcohol. Jahir noticed Ash went immediately to those bottles. He sighed internally. So she was back at it again. It amazed him sometimes how much her tiny body could hold, but he never said anything. She was a grown woman and knew good and well what she could take and what she couldn't. In only a few short hours, she was out like a light. Jahir shook his head and removed her boots, then covered her with a blanket. Finally, he could sleep.

Negotiations with Teague kept them in Shipwreck Island for about a week. Once things drew to a close, they spent some time re stocking their ship and making plans to return to Tortuga. The night before they were set to depart, Jahir cleaned up the room they had shared, and Ash went to their ship to ensure they had everything they needed already on board. As she surveyed the supplies, she went still suddenly. It wasn't a sound, or a scent on the wind. More of a feeling. But before she could turn, a foul smelling rag was clamped around her face, an arm across her throat.

Holding her breath, Ash bumped her left shoulder back roughly, ducking her head and side stepping to the right out of her assailant's hold. The rag free from her face, she kicked the back of the man's knee to bring him down to her level, then shoved a dagger she'd drawn into the back of his neck. Then something struck her on the back of her head, hard. Stunned for half a second, Ash fell to her knees, then her eyes rolled up into the back of her head, and she collapsed onto the deck of the ship, unconscious.

When Ash finally came to, the first thing she noticed was the scent of the sea. Next, she realized her hands and feet were tied, no chained, together. Not only that, but there was a cloth shoved between her lips and tied behind her head. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself, straining her ears to listen, opening her eyes so they were barely slits. She could make out the dark shapes of two men. Somehow, she wasn't afraid. If they had wanted her dead, they could have done that already. Struggling into a sitting position made the men look over at her.

"Ah, awake are we?" one of them smirked.

Ash narrowed her bright aqua eyes at him to let him know he was a dead man walking. He hardly seemed perturbed, however, and chuckled at her venomous glare.

"You'll fetch us a pretty penny," he gloated, running a hand through her golden hair fondly.

Ash felt a rush of revulsion go through her. These men were hoping to sell her as a slave. Her mind immediately began to go through all the ways she could get out of this, but something told her to wait. This wasn't the time. Her opportunity would come. She just had to be patient. The man moved away from her, and Ash looked down, observing her chains. There was a short length between the two cuffs around her wrist, and when she yanked, she found it to be rather sturdy. There were no rust spots or weak points that she could see.

For hours, she sat staring at the two men, the full moon illuminating their forms. A thought occurred to her, and a thin sliver of a smile stretched her lips. She focused on what she wanted, and slowly began to drain energy from one of them. It took a while, she had to be careful so as not to make the man's loss of energy seem suspicious. She had to drain him gradually, so that it seemed natural when he started yawning.

"I'm gonna get a few hours of sleep," he told his partner, "Take the helm for me, aye?"

The two switched places, and Ash waited a while to make sure the one she had been draining had fallen into a deep slumber. Finally, she rose, the metallic clink of her chains making the helmsman glance over at her. But she merely stretched, as one would expect of someone kept in a cramped position for so long, and leaned over the rail, apparently enjoying the sea breeze. After a few moments, he returned his attention to the sea in front of him. Ash glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes as she stood upright. The tiny noises her chains made no longer interested her captor, which was the last mistake he made. Sneaking up behind him as silently as she could, she jumped up and got the short length of chain between her wrists around his neck. Her weight brought her back down, of course, and him with her. Ash pulled back as hard as she could, digging the chain deep into his neck. Growling, she ignored his gasps and feeble attempts to free himself, yanking harder. She didn't stop when his struggles ceased. It could be a trick to get her off. Instead, she kept the relentless pressure on his windpipe for a further five minutes, glancing over at the other slaver, who still lay sleeping on the deck.

Finally releasing the man she had just killed, she rifled through his pockets until she found a key, which she immediately used to free her hands and feet. They had taken her weapons once they had knocked her unconscious, and she found them laid to one side of the deck. Once she had restored them to their rightful places on her person, she drew one dagger and threw it into the sleeping man's chest. It lodged into his heart, ending his life instantly. Ash took the time to go through the dead men's pockets, but all she found was a small amount of money. Still, she kept it, as well as their shirts, boots, and weapons. The bodies she dumped into the sea, clad in only their pants.

To her relief, they had kept the maps she had been planning to use on the voyage back to Tortuga. But Jahir was back on Shipwreck Island, probably wondering what happened to her. It took her a while to figure out where the heck she was, as she had no idea what course they'd set on when they took her. But once she had figured it out, she maneuvered the little ship back the way it had traveled, fuming the entire way. Bringing the ship into port was a pain with just her to manage it, which only made her temper sky rocket even more. Grabbing the garments and things she'd taken off the bodies of the men that had kidnapped her, she jumped over the rail onto the dock and threw her armful at Jahir, who was running towards her. Bewildered, he caught them and followed her as she made her way to their small room, where she went straight for the alcohol.

"What happened, captain my captain?" he asked, dumping the bundle onto the table.

"Bastards thought I'd go along meekly, let them sell me as a slave," she said sourly, and took a long drink of rum.

Jahir eyed her with trepidation. She was in a bad mood, to surpass the wine and go straight to rum. Not drinking for the taste as usual, but for the effect now.

"Sell that shit as soon as you can," she told him once she'd come up for air, jabbing a finger at the items she'd taken off the dead men.

"Aye aye," Jahir replied.

He took a few minutes to debate in his head if he should speak again. Then, at last, he decided that yes, he had better. So he cleared his throat, and Ash looked over at him.

"A letter arrived," he said, "A friend of yours be in trouble."

Ash blinked.

"A friend?" she repeated, bewildered, "I have a friend?"

Mutely, he handed the letter over. Ash's brows furrowed as she read.

"It's from Rose," she murmured, "Something about people wanting to kill me over a map. What map?"

But there wasn't a lot of information in the letter. Clearly Rose knew something, and expected Ash to know the same. But as that wasn't the case, Ash would have to go to Rose directly for an explanation. And the sooner the better, given the dire warning the letter contained.

"Right," Ash said grimly, "Grab your gear, we leave immediately."

Back to the docks they went, stopping only briefly for Jahir to sell the clothes and what little supplies Ash had taken from her kidnappers. The majority of the journey was spent in silence, with Ash brooding over something but unwilling to share her thoughts with Jahir. He assumed she was merely curious as to what Rose could mean. But as usual, he left her to her own thoughts. If she was ever in need of his advice or assistance, she would speak up, he was sure, even if she could be stubborn sometimes. Everyone had their limits, even his tiny captain. She could only take so much before she would snap.

When they arrived at Tortuga, they pulled in at a beach half way between the town and the main docks. If people were out to kill Ash for some map she knew nothing about, it was best to avoid as much attention as possible for the moment. They took the back way into the town, and managed to sneak into the Faithful Bride relatively unnoticed. Rose nearly jumped a foot in the air when Ash grabbed her arm and pulled her into a darkened room.

"What the – Ash! What are you doing here? I warned you to stay away, not come back to Tortuga! You're mad!"

"Probably," she replied, "But thank goodness for that, or half the things I tried wouldn't work. Now, what's all this about a map?"

For a moment, Rose stared at Ash as if she had suddenly sprouted an extra head or two.

"The map," she said, "The rogue told everyone you had it."

The frayed edges of Ash's temper were slowly slipping away from her.

"What map?!" she hissed, exasperated.

"The map to Cibola."

Ash's thin pink lips parted slightly as she stared back at Rose.

Cibola was a legendary city made out of gold, which Ash found difficult to believe existed. But she had no idea there was an actual map that could lead someone there. Maybe there wasn't. Maybe this was all bullshit. And the Rogue had told everyone she knew about this?

Rose saw the change in Ash's face, saw her mouth tighten and her bright aqua eyes narrow dangerously, and thought she was very glad she wasn't the Rogue.

"I knew nothing about this," she said flatly.

"So I see," Rose said with a false breeziness she hoped Ash would buy, "Turns out you don't owe me after all."

Shaking her head, Ash left the Faithful Bride with Jahir behind her. She made her way out of the town and down the hill on the opposite side of the island that she had come up. The King's Arm tavern was close to the main docks, and that's where the Rogue was often found. When he turned around and saw Ash standing behind him, arms folded, foot tapping, glaring at him like she was ready to eviscerate him, he got decidedly nervous.

"Ash!" he exclaimed, "You're alive!"

Her expression grew even more murderous, which he hadn't thought was possible.

"I'm alive?" she repeated, her tone full of barely restrained fury, "Why did you think I was dead?"

"Well, you took so long to return, and I've had no news of the agreement I sent you out on..."

"Which I have negotiated with Teague, by the way," she cut in scathingly, "And I wasn't gone for a year or something ridiculous like that! And what's with this map?"

"Well I don't – what map?"

Ash only glowered at him.

"Oh. That map."

The Rogue chuckled nervously.

"So sorry young captain, you must understand... I thought you were dead, and it wouldn't inconvenience you if everyone was looking for you rather than me."

"Because you're the one that actually has it, I'm guessing."

"Well, a piece of it, certainly."

"What?"

"You must know, Cibola is legend, so much wealth... well, people have killed for much less. So the man that made the map thought it would be best to split the map into seven pieces and hide them throughout the world."

Ash rubbed her temples. She felt a headache coming on. This was not her problem, she had nothing to do with this, but this imbecile dragged her into it none the less. Wonderful.

"You..." she ground out, "You... asshole."

"I can see you're upset," the Rogue replied, smiling in a strained way, "So to make it up to you, I'll cut you in on my venture. Equal shares, aye? Just help me get the rest of the map."

Ash blinked as she looked at him.

"Or," she said slowly, "I could kill you. Why not? I'll take the map piece you have and go after the rest myself. Might as well, everyone already thinks I'm in on this anyway, and it's not like you can be trusted to keep your word."

"Now just a moment," the Rogue chuckled anxiously, slowly taking a step back.

"But I won't kill you," Ash said, disgusted with herself, "It would be very inconvenient taking over the deal you made with Teague and going after this blasted map at the same time. So you stay and enjoy your trade agreement with Shipwreck Island, and I'll search for the rest of the bloody pieces. Then we'll talk terms."

"A temporary truce," the Rogue said, nodding eagerly, "Yes, fair enough, and more than I deserve, I'm sure."

"Yes," Ash said flatly, "It is."

The Rogue handed over the map piece he had, and Ash tucked it away inside her clothes, where it couldn't be pick pocketed. After all of the stress she'd been through, she was ready for a drink, but she didn't want to be anywhere near the Rogue, lest she go against her word and strangle him. She let Jahir go and do whatever he wanted, telling him to meet her the next day at the small room they'd rented, and still retained the lease on, before they set sail to negotiate with Teague.

Ash went to the Faithful Bride to have some drinks. This time, she settled for a cold beer that didn't have the same bitter after taste so many of it's kind had. For hours, she drank and played cards with the other patrons. Rose brought by supper later, and after her belly was full, Ash was contemplating a bath. She didn't notice the door to the tavern open, but she did notice the two men that sat across from her, unannounced and uninvited. Ash looked over, ready to tell them off, but the words stuck and died in her throat. Captain Teague had come to Tortuga. And sitting next to him was none other than Captain Jack Sparrow.

Author's Note: Please review! If anyone isn't able to view some chapters please let me know, nothing from this story should be missing as far as I know.