When Jack regained consciousness, he was cold. He remembered he woke sometime during the night to throw off the blanket covering him onto Ash, whose small body was like an oven. Reaching out a hand, he patted around in search of something, and when his hand felt nothing but the mattress, he opened his eyes a bit. Then he opened his eyes fully and sat up, looking around him. She was gone. Where was she? Getting out of bed, he didn't even put on his boots or effects before rushing out on deck. No one was in sight, not a single crewman. Hearing laughter, he ran over to the starboard rail and looked over it. There they were. His crew was on the beach, throwing around a potato, and so was she. Relieved, Jack climbed over the rail and onto the sand below, but the moment his feet touched the ground, she noticed him and ran over to him.

"Do not," Jack said seriously, raising a finger, "Try to bring me back to bed and force feed me more of your nasty teas. I feel fine."

Only now that he set eyes on her and his immediate worries were gone did he realize he did, in fact, feel better. Her aqua eyes were looking at him skeptically, and he began to worry he couldn't convince her.

"I'm fine," he insisted.

"Very well," she said slowly, "I'll allow you to be out of bed, but you have to keep drinking the medicine. I'll even feed you."

"It is about time for lunch," Gibbs added from a distance, squinting up at the sun.

So the whole crew clambered back onto the ship and trooped down to the galley, talking and laughing while Ash made food. Jack didn't sit with the rest of them. Instead, he wandered over and stood near Ash.

"Sure you're okay, Jack?" she asked.

"You weren't there when I woke up."

Ash turned to stare at him, her expression amazed.

"Was I supposed to be?"

"Would have been nice. Even though you are too hot at night and you hog the bed, you smell nice, and you're soft."

Ash's mouth fell open.

"I do not hog the bed!"

"Yes you do. You almost pushed me out of it. Several times."

"How does someone my size push someone your size out of bed? I don't think that's possible."

"Perhaps you gain super strength at night. I don't know what strange powers you wizards have."

Ash hit him on the arm. While the blow hurt, he was both happy and sad for it. Happy because it meant she didn't hate him, hitting on the arm was a sign of affection among his crew. But he was sad because it meant her fondness for him extended only as far as friendship.

"Ow! I'm sick!"

"You're not that sick if you're up and bugging me just like normal."

Frowning, Jack rubbed his arm and moved away so she could focus on creating food. He was rather hungry, come to think of it. Once Ash finished making lunch, she distributed it to everyone and sat in the middle of the crew to eat with them. Watching them, seeing how easily they talked and laughed with her, and her with them, Jack felt odd. He got the feeling his own crew liked her more than him, and he wasn't sure how he felt about that.

"I need everyone on deck to help set sail," Jack said once lunch was being cleaned up.

All movement stopped. Going from people rising from their seats and Ash picking things up to take to the sink to be cleaned, the sudden stop of the bustling motions everyone made caused Jack to pause. Ash looked back at the crew, and when he saw them looking to her, he frowned, suspicious that they were privy to some information that he was not.

"What?" he asked.

"Well, we were hoping to delay our departure for one more day," Ash said slowly, "We were planning on some more activities on the beach after lunch, and I specifically would like you to rest a bit more before we set sail. The delay would also be beneficial for me to gather some herbs I'm low in stock on."

Jack sighed. Who was really running this ship? He was starting to wonder.

"Fine. Go play with your potato."

The crew grinned and went back to the beach, and Ash announced her intentions to go find her herbs.

"Do not let him exert himself," she told Jahir, pointing at Jack.

Then she picked up a bag and was out of the galley in seconds. Jack was left staring across the room at the big man, who looked back at him with an undecipherable expression.

"Traitor," Jack told him petulantly.

He was forced to sit on the beach and watch the crew have their fun. When Ash returned a couple hours later, she put her bag of herbs below deck on the ship before returning to the beach with the rest. Jack watched the crew separate into pairs, and a line tied around one person's left leg, securing it to the right leg of their partner. After everyone had formed a line, a signal was sounded, and they began running down the beach. Jack understood. It was some sort of strange race. Ash was paired with Jahir, and as soon as the signal was given, the big man hooked his left arm under Ash's right, lifting her in the air. He ran full speed down the beach, but they didn't fall down as the others did, since he was practically carrying his partner, which effectively eliminated the need for her to keep up or work with him. Jack was certain this defeated the whole purpose.

"Cheater!" he shouted.

"Pirate!" Ash called over her shoulder, laughing.

He shook his head in disbelief as he watched them win. The crew was surprisingly good natured about losing. They untied themselves, chuckling at how ridiculous they probably looked falling all over the place.

"You can't do it alone," Jack challenged.

She looked at him, her head tilting to one side as she looked him up and down.

"You want to race me? Our legs tied together? We'd be hopping like rabbits the whole way down the beach."

"And I could still beat you, even in my state."

"You're on."

They sat on the sand. Ash tied her legs together, and Jack did the same, then Jahir and Gibbs pulled them to their feet. Jack could hear the crew making bets on who would win, and was incensed to find almost everyone favored her. Gibbs looked at them both doubtfully, shaking his head, then gave the signal to start. Off they went, with the cheers of the crew ringing in their ears. It didn't take long for Ash to start pulling ahead. Her legs were shorter, she should be having difficulty, yet it was Jack that was struggling to keep up. Then he fell flat on his face, and could feel his skin heat up in embarrassment. He heard her laughing as she kept hopping down the beach, and swore under his breath.

"Bugger."

She had won. Jack struggled into a sitting position and untied his feet, grumbling under his breath. As the crew went back to their games, Ash came and sat next to him.

"Come on Jack, it's a nice day, the sun is shining, no storms here."

He only looked at her. She wore her hat, so her fair face was shaded from the relentless sun, but it caught her golden hair and made it shimmer. It was good to see her smiling. He feared she would never do that again after what he had done. How stupid could he be? How insane had he been to do that to her? He'd driven her away like a fool. And as soon as their current business was dealt with, she would be gone.

"Jack?"

He blinked, realizing he had been staring at her for some time. He looked away from her, at the crew who ran around enjoying themselves.

"You're stalling," he said.

He heard her sigh, but didn't look at her again.

"What do you mean?"

"You asked for this delay so we wouldn't reach Roger as quickly."

"I rarely have only one reason for doing something," Ash responded, "But so what if that was one of them? You agreed. You had your own reasons. What your reasoning is, I don't know. But I'm glad you said yes."

Jack watched her walk away. She was sharp. But then, of course she was, she was a wizard. Jack had always been able to outwit nearly everyone he came across, spin half truths and confusing sentences to get him out of things. But her keen mind cut through all of that. She saw him more clearly than anyone had before, and it unnerved him. He didn't know what to do with this. With her. Perhaps it would be best that she left after eliminating Roger.

He got lost in his own thoughts as the sun set, and the crew began to gather wood to make a fire on the beach. Ash dragged some food out of the galley with Jahir's help, and cooked a meal for them over the open fire. Others brought out the rum, and Jack kept his eyes on Ash as he ate his dinner, and drank the nasty tea she gave him. It wasn't long after dinner that the crew began to sing songs. It started off somber, with a different crew member volunteering to sing the next song, but it soon turned ridiculous with a song about a sailor falling in love with multiple women that had names of fish. The crew knew it, because they chimed in with accompanying claps at certain intervals, and Ash laughed so hard she soon had tears in her eyes and was gasping for breath. When the song ended, she applauded enthusiastically along with the rest of the crew.

"Your turn!" they told Ash, who looked around at them, startled.

"Me? No, no," she waved them off, shaking her head.

"Come on, everybody gets a turn!" they insisted.

"No, I pass. Somebody else take my turn."

Glancing at another slyly, they began clapping rhythmically and chanting her name over and over.

"Ash, Ash, Ash, Ash, Ash!"

She glared at them and held up stoically under the onslaught. For a few seconds. Then she sighed, caving.

"Alright! Blast you all, shut up!"

They did so eagerly, wide grins on all their faces. Ash told Andrew what song to start, and Jack recognized it instantly. All sailors did. It was from a woman's point of view, who pined for her love who was at sea. Ash's sweet soprano voice rose and dipped on the cool night air, floating around the air like a cloud. She closed her eyes as she sang, which Jack was grateful for, as it allowed him to stare at her blatantly and without fear he would be caught by her. She seemed completely lost in the melody, and he sighed as he felt a fog of bliss wrap around his mind.

The wind picked up, tossing her golden hair and scattering cinders high, but no one noticed or cared. All they could see, all they could think of, was her. She was so beautiful, so wild and yet controlled at the same time. She was utterly hypnotizing, enchanting. It was as if the whole world stopped and went silent in order to listen to her. When the last notes of her song faded on the air, she opened her eyes. The silence that followed was deafening. They were all still deep under the spell she had unwittingly put on them, and before they could come out of it and applaud, her eyes widened, and she leaned back slightly. Something had startled her.

Looking in the direction she was staring at, they saw a man in the ocean across the fire and sand from them. He rose up out of the waves, his skin paler than even Ash's. While hers was of the fine porcelain of European nobility, his was sickly looking. His hair might have been blonde once, but was now white, a stark contrast to his deep purple eyes. He was bearded, his arms and torso muscled like a warrior's, with barnacles and sea shells speckling his broad shoulders. Below his waist, however, the human skin melted away and turned into scales that decorated a long tail.

He and Ash stared at one another for long moments, until he broke the silence with a strong, sonorous baritone voice.

"I am Nereus."

Ash didn't react outwardly, but inside, she was screaming bloody murder. This was a god, and in all the stories she'd ever read about gods that encountered mortals, very few of them ended well for the mortal in question. She took a deep, shaky breath, and inclined her head slightly.

"Greetings to you Nereus, I am Ash. To what do we owe the pleasure of your company?"

He tilted his head to one side and flicked his tail, sending droplets skyward that caught the firelight and sparkled as they flew.

"I am curious about you. My daughters told me a mere human had stopped them from taking down a ship, which is extremely rare. So rare, I cannot remember the last time humans have escaped unscathed. I am very old, you see, so this is indeed a historic accomplishment."

Ash said nothing as she thought about what he said. His daughters? Seeing the beautiful women rising up out of the water, glaring daggers at her, she realized what he meant. The mermaids that had attacked the Black Pearl so long ago had run back to their father to tell him about it. Why? Were they hoping he would smite her or something? Petty bitches. She didn't know what to say. Offending a god would be extremely stupid, and the wrong word could accomplish that very quickly and easily. Glancing around at the crew, she saw they stared slack jawed at the mermaids, though mercifully, none of them made any moves toward the water. Jack, however, flicked his eyes back and forth between Nereus and Ash, a question in his eyes. Ash caught his gaze and gave a very slight nod, hoping he caught the message in her eyes to be calm and let her handle this. Looking back at Nereus, she finally composed a response, but still spoke slowly and carefully.

"I did not mean to cause them lasting harm, so I hope I did not. My aim was only to defend those I have under my protection. I might point out they attacked us with no warning or provocation. And it was quite some time ago. I had hoped it was past us by now."

Nereus chuckled.

"You need not be concerned. I am not angry, merely curious, as I have said."

The mermaid's head pivoted sharply in his direction, their glares of fury turning into outrage. Nereus continued, seeming not to notice.

"It has only taken me a long time to find you. But once I was aware of your presence in the ocean, I was able to locate you. But you were gone too fast. Still, I managed to search the area nearby and have finally come upon you here."

Ash understood. He had no idea who she was or how to get to her back when the mermaids told him of their encounter with her. But when she went overboard during the storm... she didn't know how being in water let him know where she was. Some sort of god like magick, she supposed, to know who was in his territory and where they were in an instant. That dark shape she saw in the water... It wasn't a shark after all. It was him. He had been coming for her, but Jack snatched her away and onto the ship before he could.

"I see," she said carefully, glancing at the angry mermaids, "Then you do not seek retribution?"

"No," Nereus said, "I think my daughters are only upset because your voice is more beautiful than they could ever dream of achieving. As are you."

Ash's eyebrows rose. She didn't know how to react to being told by a god that creatures infamous for their beauty and hypnotizing voices paled in comparison to her. Said creatures, who before looked angry, now looked murderous.

"Thank you," she said simply.

"I would seek to have you by my side from here on out," he went on.

Ash's lips parted slightly, the only indication of her shock. Was he serious? He wasn't smiling. He was dead serious.

"I am flattered, of course," Ash said, fighting to sound calm and polite, "But I believe you are already wed."

"Be not concerned with my wife. I am not."

Holy shit, Ash thought, her head spinning, Is this really happening?

"That may be, but I must decline your most gracious offer," Ash told him firmly but diplomatically, "I have business to attend to. And once that is completed... I still do not wish to join you."

"Your heart belongs to another?"

"Whether it does or does not is irrelevant. My wish is to determine my own path in life. I do not have great skill with clairvoyance, but I can already see that whichever direction I choose, that path does not include you. But I thank you for the opportunity."

Nereus frowned, looking angered for a moment. Then the anger faded into a sullen, reluctant acceptance, and he nodded once.

"Very well. I will respect your wish. And my daughters will never again bother you."

The mermaids flipped backwards into the water and vanished into the depths. Nereus took a moment longer, staring at Ash as if to memorize her appearance, then slowly sunk beneath the surface out of sight once more. The tension caused by his presence broke abruptly, and the entire crew sighed with the relief of it. Ash took a breath and relaxed her shoulders, rolling her head from side to side. She didn't even realize she was so stiff before.

"Well," she sighed, "I'd like a distraction right about now. Andrew?"

Wordlessly, the musician struck up a tune, and Ash took a long pull from a bottle of rum. Very slowly, the crew went back to their songs and drinks, but Ash did not sing again. Jack was glad the merman was gone. If he hadn't left when he did, Jack would have... well, he didn't really know. But he didn't like the feeling in his chest when he thought of Ash running off with him. His mood didn't darken any further throughout the night, but neither did it get better. He kept drinking and remained silent while the crew continued with their revelry, until he passed out.

The sun in his eyes woke him. Squinting and shielding his face with a hand, he sat up and looked around blearily. The crew lay scattered around the dead fireplace, snoring lightly. But he didn't see Ash with them. He looked to his right, towards the sea, and saw her immediately. A towel, a set of clothes, and wet bar of soap lay on the beach near her. Ash herself was rubbing sand all over her naked body. When she finished, she went into the sea and rinsed herself off. Jack stared openly. The morning sun on her ivory skin was a sight to behold.

Small shoulders sat above breasts that were not large, but still full and perky. Her waist was narrow, her stomach taut and flat. Her behind was perfectly rounded, and her thighs were surprisingly bigger than he expected, but not overly so, then her legs from there narrowed until her ankles disappeared into the water. She was absolutely stunning, and it didn't surprise him at all that a god would want to steal her away. When she turned back towards shore, she froze when she saw Jack watching her. Then she continued onto where the towel lay, and dried herself off before getting dressed.

"I was just getting a half decent bath before we set sail again," she explained, walking over to him, "I suppose you'll insist we continue on our journey?"

"Aye," Jack replied, "I'm completely better. Time to deal with Roger."

"I still have no idea how to do that," Ash warned.

"And I still have every confidence that you will figure it out," he told her before turning to the still sleeping crew, "Oi! Up! Time to get moving!"

The crew started awake, and rushed to get onto the ship. Ash sighed and went to make breakfast. She took her time as the crew still had to get the ship out to sea, but when they were finished, they came down to the galley for their meal. Ash didn't spend much time in Jack's quarters when she went to take him his portion, she was too busy thinking about Roger. As soon as she had the galley cleaned up, she was looking through her grimoire. Nothing in the black magick section of the book had anything that could help, so she started looking at other sections. It definitely had nothing to do with Healing, or Divination, or Wortcunning, not even Beast Mastery. Lore, perhaps? But no. Frustrated, she moved onto Alchemy.

Even as she read, she thought of how Alchemy was the closest thing magick had to science, how it was mostly practiced with equipment and took time rather than served instant results. Then again... That witch doctor had turned Roger from one thing into something else, which was one of the fundamental principals of Alchemy. Ash wasn't familiar with applying transmutation to humans. It was usually things like metals and stones. But what if...? After reading some more, she decided that there was no method involving Alchemy that could turn a human being into an undead monster, and closed her grimoire, pushing it to one side.

Laying her forehead on the table, she lifted her head an inch or so before bringing it down again on the wood. She did this over and over for about minute before sitting up with a frustrated sigh. This was the same conversation she'd been having with herself for weeks now. It was just going in circles. How could she have absolutely no idea how that witch doctor did what he did? How could there be no answers in any branch of magick she looked into? She blinked, and looked down at her grimoire. Maybe that was it. She had been searching for answers in a single magickal practice. But there were none, in any of them she looked at. So then... maybe he combined more than one? What if, he combined the principals of transmutation, which was Alchemy, with raising the dead, commonly used with Black Magick?

"That's... genius," she muttered to herself, reluctant to give praise to this asshole, but too stunned to hold herself back completely.

That made sense, it fitted perfectly, and explained why it took her so long to think about it. She didn't know why it took this long, now that she thought about it, Wortcunning and Healing were often combined. It was how she had been helping Jack this whole time, so the idea of mixing two separate branches of magick wasn't entirely unheard of. She just had never thought of this combination before. She was so deep into her thoughts, she didn't even notice it was time for the next meal. The crew coming into the galley jolted her out of her trance, and she jumped up and hurried to make lunch. She wanted to get back to her grimoire as soon as possible. Finally, she was on to something.

Author's Note: Please share my story with friends if you like it. Thanks!