The next morning at breakfast, when Ash took Jack his usual tray of food, she lingered instead of leaving right off.
"Where are we going?" she asked.
"Roger has a hideout," he said simply.
"Wait, so you're taking us straight to him? Shouldn't we be running away from him, at least until I figure out how to defeat him?"
"It's best to strike first, aye? So I hope you have a solution by the time we get there."
Ash sighed, frustrated.
"In another situation I might. But this is different. If he can raise the dead... basically what that tells me is he's making zombies. Zombies are made by feeding them a special concoction, involving puffer fish poison. But the potion doesn't kill the victim, exactly, it makes them hallucinate and become more violent. That makes them easier to control, apparently. But there's more to it than that of course. The bokor, or witch doctor, that does it also has to capture the victim's soul in a special bottle. This is why they don't die when they get fatally wounded. So, you see, zombies aren't really dead. The person can be saved if their soul is returned to their bodies and they get an antidote to the poison they've been fed."
Jack had been staring at her with fascination. When he realized she had stopped speaking, he blinked, cleared his throat, and asked a question.
"So... what's the problem?"
"Well, I'd have to find where he keeps the bottles, so I could return the souls. Then I'd have to have a massive amount of antidote on hand and a lot of help restraining the victims while I administer it. We don't have that much man power, I'm guessing, for the army he's amassing. Not to mention there's the added difficulty of dealing with Roger himself. He's not going to sit passively by and let us do all this, is he?"
"No. And a simple sword thrust or bullet won't stop him, will it?"
"I seriously doubt it. From what you told me, he was cursed into this. That's already entirely different from the process of creating a zombie. That means he isn't human anymore, not alive anymore. His soul isn't in a bottle somewhere, and he isn't being fed a potion. He can't be dealt with in the same way that I'd handle a zombie. And since I have no idea as to the details of the curse the witch doctor used on him..."
Ash trailed off and shrugged her shoulders.
"There must be some way," Jack insisted.
"I'm sure there is, but I don't know where to start."
"You'll find the answer," Jack told her.
When Ash looked at him, all the emotions she had been feeling since he showed up in the Faithful Bride converged into two distinct impulses. She wanted to hit him and kiss him at the same time, and wondered how that was possible. Just seeing his face hurt so much, but she didn't want to be without that image in her head. What was wrong with her? Before she could do either of those things, she turned away silently and left his quarters. She returned to the galley and began creating healing salves and infusions. Once she had some basic healing supplies in stock, she turned to making more of the soap that would lather with sea water. She'd pass them out to the crew later, with stern instructions to make use of them. Regularly.
By the time she had finished with that, she had to prepare for lunch. When the crew came in to get their food, she handed out a bar of soap with each meal, telling them to use it, or she'd put a very nasty spell on them. She gave the same instructions to Jack when she brought his lunch.
"And what is that, anyway?" she demanded, noticing a red abrasion on one side of his jaw.
"Does it matter?"
Ash sighed. What had he been doing to himself while she was away?
"It might. Sit still and let me look at it."
"What? No. Oi! Woman, leave me be!"
"Stay still! It will only take a minute! Don't make me hurt you!"
Grumbling, Jack folded his arms and let her examine his jaw. When she finally stepped away, he seemed a little peeved.
"Happy now? Done prodding at me?"
"I can treat it," Ash told him, ignoring his tone, "It should be simple to make it go away."
Ignoring his mutterings, she returned to the galley to create a cure, then returned to give him the cream she had come up with.
"Don't expect instant results," she warned, "Magick doesn't work that way. Well, not most of the time. And herbs definitely don't. Apply this twice a day. Results should come soon, but you have to be consistent with it."
"Alright!"
Shaking her head, Ash went to her tiny room near the galley to look through the books on magick that she had, hoping to get some sort of idea on how to deal with Roger. While she had training on dark magic, her knowledge was not all encompassing, and she never had to deal with it on this scale before. If she only knew how that witch doctor did what he did, she'd have a clear idea on how to reverse it. Too bad he was dead, or she could ask him.
Ash blinked. Just because he was dead didn't mean she couldn't ask him. Not really. Immediately, she flipped pages in her grimoire to see what information she had on communicating with the dead. This would have to be planned carefully. The month was important for this, but it would be better to do this sooner rather than later, so she had the least control over this part. Next was if the moon was waxing or waning, with waning being the more favorable, meaning she had to narrow the specific month down further to a time of month. Then, the time of the week. Monday was the best for the sort of ritual she was planning. Finally, the time of day. The hours of the moon on a Monday were one in the afternoon, eight at night, three in the morning, and ten in the morning. Furthermore, since she was taking the moon into consideration for this ritual, she decided it was best to do it when the moon was out, but with enough time throughout the night for the moon to be out and give her spell more strength.
All these calculations required supplies she didn't have. But Jack had plenty of charts and calendars, as was necessary for navigation at night. Quickly, she went up to his quarters and knocked impatiently. When he called for her to enter, she rushed in, closing the door behind her, and asked to see all the charts he had. He stared at her for some time before speaking.
"You're onto something. What is it?"
Ash smiled at him.
"Who said dead men tell no tales?"
"You – you're going to – "
"Yes. Now the charts, where are they?"
Mutely, Jack gathered all the charts of the night sky he had and spread them out on the desk. Ash looked through them quickly, until she came upon one that was of interest. The moon controlled the tides, which was why Jack had a moon calendar, detailing the phases of the moon on each night. Ash merely had to scan the chart to see when the moon would start waning into darkness, and from there, found the next Monday that the moon would be in the position she wanted. Taking a breath, she smiled and looked at Jack.
"I've got it," she said, glowing, "The next Monday coming up, at eight at night, I'll call that witch doctor back to this world to answer my questions."
"Anything I can do to help?"
"Yes. Stay out of my room during that time until I come out. And don't let the crew in either. I need to focus."
"You're not going to unleash an evil spirit on my ship are you?"
Ash scoffed.
"Don't be ridiculous. One of the rules of magick is 'don't summon what you can't banish'. I wouldn't do this if I didn't know how to send it back. Common sense, really. And I'll have protective measures in place so the spirit won't be able to leave the circle I put it in, certainly not the room."
She went back to her tiny room to make preparations. Then, she emerged on deck to enjoy the sea and fresh air. Leaning over the rail, she closed her eyes and smiled, feeling like the cat that just got the cream.
"Bad juju," a deep voice said.
Ash opened her eyes and looked over at Jahir.
"You don't even know what I'm going to do."
"I an' I be familiar with dat look on your face."
That made her laugh.
"You've been around me for far too long," she said, "Sure you're not ready to run?"
"I an' I stand by you, always, captain my captain."
Turning to face him so that her back was to the railing, she looked up at him curiously, having to tilt her head almost all the way back.
"Why? You're always there for me, without fail. I've already told you that you have no obligation to stay with me. My saving your life doesn't make you my slave."
"And you never treated me as one," Jahir replied solemnly, "If you had, I an' I would have gone. But you be a good person, captain my captain."
"But I've never even said thank you for all you do for me."
"You show your thanks in other ways. You're not one for words."
Ash smiled crookedly.
"Sometimes I feel like a massive bitch," she said honestly, "I wish I was the type of person you seem to think I am."
Jahir put an enormous hand on her shoulder, patted a couple times, and walked away. It was strange how even without speaking, he managed to communicate his feelings to her and make her feel better. Still, she wondered what she did in a past life to make the universe decide she was worthy of a friend like him. All the same, she was definitely worthy of food. The only caveat to that was she had to make it first, so she reluctantly left her spot by the rail to go prepare dinner in the galley.
The next couple days passed slowly, like thick honey being poured on a cold morning. As soon as dinner was finished and cleaned up on Monday night, Ash went to her small room and got everything ready. The miniature table she draped with a black cloth, and placed black candles in a circle around the floor, with her and the table inside it. Taking a deep breath, Ash sat down in the circle to ground and center herself. Eight o' clock drew nearer and nearer, but at last she finished the pre ritual and moved onto calling the spirit she wanted to converse with. She chanted the spell three times in succession, and focused on what she wanted. For a few long minutes, nothing happened. Then, a cold raspy voice filled the room.
"Why do you disturb me?"
Ash opened her eyes, but she could see nothing. There was only the voice.
"I have questions about your death," Ash responded, trying to sound calm.
"Do you now? Well, how intriguing. I wasn't aware we knew each other."
The spirit sounded vaguely taunting, but Ash ignored the tone in favor of remaining polite.
"We have never met, that much is true. But I have heard of you. I heard how that blackguard Roger murdered you. What I want to know is what exactly you did to him before you died, so I can reverse it."
"Oh? And why should I tell you? I didn't put that curse on him just so some white witch could remove my hard work."
"Actually, I'm a wizard," Ash responded blandly, "And I specialize in gray magick. I ask you this not for myself, but as a favor to someone else. He's threatening someone that I have sworn to protect."
"Ah, Jack Sparrow, I'm guessing."
"Yes, it is Captain Jack Sparrow he's after."
"What sort of protector are you, if you weren't there when all this happened?"
Ash took a deep breath, attempting to calm her temper.
"My relationship with Captain Sparrow is complicated and unimportant in relation to the question which I ask."
"Fah!" the spirit spat, "I'll tell you nothing, woman. I cursed Roger to roam the earth for eternity as one of the undead. I did that so he would suffer. I'll not tell you how to reverse it, what would be the point of it in the first place?"
"I think you misunderstand," Ash said, a hard edge creeping into her voice, "I'm not asking you this to save his soul, to spare him from the hardship you've placed upon him. I fully intend to kill him, to show him no mercy."
"But a clean, easy death is showing him mercy."
"Yet he threatens the living," Ash replied, "He is harming innocent people to become part of his undead army in his twisted revenge scheme against Captain Sparrow. I cannot allow that."
"Then it sounds like you'll have to figure this out on your own," the spirit drawled lazily, "What do I care about other people he may hurt? I'm dead. Fuck all of you."
Furious by this point, Ash severed the connection, sending the spirit back to where it came. She blew out the candles and conducted a brief post ritual ceremony, then tidied up the materials she used. When she stepped out of the room, she felt like she'd aged a thousand years. There was a heavy weight on her shoulders and back, weighing her down. Rubbing her eyes against the headache that was coming on, she climbed up to the main deck and looked out over the sea, a strip of which was illuminated by the silvery light of the moon. The deck was deserted, except for one person. Jack stood by the rail, looking out over the sea. Without even thinking about it, Ash's feet automatically steered her over to stand beside him. For a moment, they stood in silence, looking out over the sea.
"How did it go?" Jack asked at last.
Ash shook her head, still irritated.
"Bastard was completely uncooperative," she answered, "I'm on my own. And I have no idea what I'm doing."
Wordlessly, Jack held out the half empty rum bottle he'd been holding. Smiling wryly, Ash accepted it and took a long drink from it, feeling the alcohol burn down her throat and warm her from the inside out when it reached her stomach. Sighing appreciatively, she took the bottle away from her lips and stared morosely at the patch of moonlit water before her. She didn't give the bottle back to him, but held onto it as she submerged herself in the peace and silence of this moment. She felt like she was floating, and closed her eyes to fully appreciate the sensation. But of course, Jack had to ruin it by speaking.
"I'm sorry."
Ash's aqua eyes flew open. She turned her head to stare at him, mouth open slightly.
"What?"
It was all she could think of to say. She wasn't even entirely sure she'd heard him correctly. Maybe she was going deaf...
"I'm sorry, for what I did. For whipping you when I found out you were a woman," Jack clarified, "I shouldn't have done it. I over reacted, and I know nothing I can say will ever make it right... but I am sorry."
Ash blinked.
"I forgive you."
It came out as a whisper, but she wouldn't have said it if it wasn't true. She was so tired. It took too much energy to be angry with him. She just wanted it to be over, to be behind them, to be in the far distant past, never to be mentioned again. At least he knew he had been wrong. She never thought he would say it out loud, but now that he had... only now could she forgive him. He was a man, after all. He was doomed to be an idiot for eternity. However, Ash wasn't sure how granting forgiveness invited a kiss. Because shortly after she said the words, he leaned closer to her and fitted his lips to hers. For an instant, Ash enjoyed the feel of the kiss and the warmth of him, breathing in the scent of the sea and spices that were on him. Then, jerking back in shock as she realized what was happening, she punched him as hard as she could.
Her heel turned out, her hips and shoulders twisted, and her arm shot forward, her knuckles colliding painfully with his jaw. His entire head snapped to the side from the force of the blow. But Ash didn't follow up on the punch. She merely stood there and glared at him, as he massaged his jaw with one hand and turned his head back to stare at her.
"I probably deserved that," he said mildly.
"You absolutely deserved that," Ash seethed.
She turned her back on him and went below decks to her room, taking his bottle of rum with her. As she drank, she wondered if he would come after her, if only to attempt to reclaim the bottle. But no, he was wise enough to stay away, and Ash finally fell asleep after she drank all the rum. The next morning, she reluctantly left her hammock and went to make breakfast. Once she, the crew, and Jack had been fed and cleanup was completed, Ash made herself a cup of tea and went to sit on the stairs on deck. She stared without seeing what she was looking at, sipping her tea every now and then. Soon, Jack came to sit beside her on the steps. Ash ignored him and sipped her tea some more.
"My tremendous intuitive sense of the female creature informs me that you are troubled," he said suddenly, breaking the silence.
Ash took a deep breath and another sip of tea, fighting the urge to throw the steaming liquid into his face.
"Then it should also be able to tell you why," she drawled.
When he didn't answer for a few long moments, she turned to him and demanded one.
"What the hell was that last night?"
"It's called a kiss," Jack replied, "You seemed to like it, for a second."
Ash looked at him from the corner of her eye.
"I wouldn't touch you with a ten foot oar," she said frostily, getting up from her seat on the stairs.
She went to walk along the railing, but Jack followed her.
"Why not? We're more similar than you'd care to admit."
Ash whirled to face him on her heel, glaring up into his face.
"Every port you go to, there's a woman. Several, in many cases. Who knows what sort of diseases you might have?"
Jack's mouth fell open in shock, and as comical as the sight was, Ash didn't smile or laugh, but turned away again.
"I am not diseased!" he shouted at her retreating back.
Ash avoided him as much as possible after that, focusing on making the meals and when she wasn't doing that, pouring over her grimoire for answers on how to deal with Roger. The sooner she figured out how to save Jack, the sooner she could leave and never see him again. Why did he do such an idiotic thing anyway? What possessed Jack to play cards with someone he knew wanted what he had while drunk off his ass? Ash had seen Jack play cards before, and usually he knew what he was about. Honestly, even drunk he was better at it than anyone she knew, which explained why he won against Roger. But common sense should have told him the other man wouldn't play fair. If he hadn't had too much rum, he would have seen that and walked away. Wouldn't he? He wouldn't willingly put himself in such a shitty situation, right? Did he like punishing himself?
Ash sighed and ran both her hands through her hair, resting her elbows on the table she sat at. For a moment, there was quiet. Then the ship rolled suddenly, spilling her off her seat. Ash grunted as she hit the deck, the breath knocked out of her. What the fuck? She wondered as she climbed to her feet. She raced up to the main deck and gasped as freezing cold rain drenched her within seconds. The crew was running around, rushing to secure the deck. She ran forward to help, the wind howling in her ears and the cold seeping into her bones. Why hadn't Jack called for all hands on deck? A storm like this meant they needed all the help they could get. Glancing around, Ash saw him at the helm. So he was safe, then. Good. Lightning flashed, and he glanced down at the deck for a moment. Their eyes met, and then his narrowed.
"Ash, get below!" he shouted at her.
She marveled at how he could bellow that loud. His voice cut through the noise of the storm, the blood pounding in her ears, and the banging of barrels and crates sliding around and hitting things on deck. But she shook her head and dove on top of a shifting crate, stopping it from moving. Dragging it over to the side where it would be out of the way, she helped Carver tie it in place. No sooner than they'd had it secured, a wave struck the port side of the ship, making the whole vessel lurch to one side. Water gushed over the rail from the port side, rolling across the deck to the starboard side and slamming into Ash, who toppled overboard with a cry of shock. She hit the water below, hard. Her skin stung from the contact, her mouth was full of seawater. She had to breathe. Kicking furiously, she fought the sea and got to the surface, coughing up the water she'd swallowed and taking in a massive lungful of clean, cold air before another wave hit her in the face, slapping her downwards into the sea again.
It was strange how calm it was under the water, she realized. Above, the surface roiled and clashed in chaos. But here, it was peaceful. Looking around, all she saw was darkness, and all she could hear was the deafening silence. Then she frowned. What was that? She could have sworn she saw a dark shape swim by in the distance. Frightened out of her wits now, she kicked and struggled to find her way to the surface again. She would be damned if a shark ate her. Her head broke into the air again, and she gulped down the precious oxygen. She nearly jumped straight up in the air and clear out of the water when an arm wrapped itself around her. But then she saw Jack's face, and a different sort of fear took over.
"You're crazy!"
She had to yell to be heard over the storm.
"Why did you come after me? I can swim, you idiot! You could have just thrown me a line!"
"Shut up!" he shouted back at her.
She did shut up, but only because her throat was hurting from yelling. How did he do it for so many years? Maybe that was why his voice was rather rough. His arm circled around her waist, and he yanked on a line tied around his own waist. Following the line up to the ship, she saw a group of crewmen by the rail begin to haul on it. She and Jack were dragged through the water, then lifted out of the sea and pulled up over the rail to sprawl on the deck. But he didn't pause to catch his breath or allow her to get her bearings. Grabbing her by the arm so hard she winced, Jack dragged her to her feet and over to his quarters. When she realized where they were going, Ash began to struggle, digging her heels into the deck to slow their progress.
Annoyed, Jack simply picked her up and carried her as she kicked and screamed, shouting at him to put her down. He did soon put her down, inside his cabin. He began to take her clothes off, and Ash fought him, shouting at him to leave her alone. But he ignored her and continued to strip her clothes from her until she was naked. But he didn't do anything else, except wrap a thick, warm blanket around her, which immediately made her go silent. Ash stared at him as he walked away, closing the doors behind him. A lock clicked, signifying that she was now locked in, and she blinked, confused. What was that? He just... he didn't try anything. He just wanted her out of her soaking wet clothes, so she would have less chance of getting sick. But he was out there in the storm, getting the ship to safety.
Author's Note: So... thoughts? Review? Please? In honor of ten chapters? Bet you never thought I'd make it, did you? To be fair neither did I. So if you enjoyed this and want more, reviews are so very helpful in keeping me going. Thank you.