It was dark, and she walked behind them. Eight bloomin redcoats, one of them behind a stumbling, very pale Jack, the rest pushing the way through the busy nighttime streets. The one thing that the British never had understood about the eastern world was how they loved the night. And she agreed. She strode purposely, carefully, close behind the group, pulling a dagger out of her waistband. She'd given up on the dress, and the civilians eyed her bristling weaponry with a mixture of respect and concern. She sped up, till she was inches behind the last redcoat, and slung, punching the dagger full into his throat. She looked up worriedly, but the others had not heard a thing and continued marching. She dodged around him, half holding Jack to stop him from falling, and pulled him into an alley.
"Can you walk on your own?" she held is chin, forcing him to look in her eyes. He nodded, barely.
"I told ya to leave, lass."
"Yeah, well, you can kick my ass for it later. Right now we have to get to the ship."
She pulled the bandana off his head, playing with his hair for a moment till it fell around his face, plucked the hat off his head and put it on her own, placing the cutlass and the pistol both around his waist, while he looked on, curious. She threw her cloak over his shoulders, pulling the hood over his head, as she pulled her arms through his coat.
"What're you thinking, lass?"
She bit her lip and looked at him. "Walk down this street, for a little less than a mile, and you'll come to a dirt road, mi'lady." She stressed the title, and it dawned on him what she was doing. "Right next to it, there's a cliff overlooking the sea. At some point tonight, the Death Flight will be in that harbor. Get on the ship, whatever happens. Don't wait."
"And what about you?"
"Love, I'm Captain Jack Sparrow," she grinned, grabbing the gutter railing and bracing herself to climb up the wall. "Savvy?"

"Love, love, wait love," he grabbed her sleeve, stopping her. "They're going to kill ya."

"Probably," she grinned. "Get to your ship, captain. It sails at dawn."

With that, she was gone.

***

Alinnya watched, crouched on the roof, as Jack walked through the crowded street. The light of the torches shone in her eyes, making them glitter in the shadows, much like a tiger. She turned to see the redcoats racing back toward her. Toward Jack. She pulled the first pistol out, cocking it, and loosed the bag of powder and shot as well. She didn't have the weaponry to do battle with them, nor their reinforcements, but a little distraction…

She smiled at the sight of two large bulls being lead through the street by a small farmboy, headed toward the military men. She grinned even wider, and took aim.

The shot came out of nowhere, startling the redcoats, and the bulls stampeding toward them made the situation even worse. But the only thing Alinnya regretted was the shout that rose up- "There he is! The pirate!" She picked up the pace of her run, leaping across alleyways, musket shots hot on her heels.

***

Jack stumbled to the cliff edge, looking down. There she was. He felt as though he could cry- that ship had never looked so good!

"Jump!" he heard her roar behind him, and shots being fired. He could barely think before her hand was on his back, pushing him over the precipice toward the grey night water. As they fell, he could hear the shots whizzing by them, and more from Alinnya, firing back while falling. Then another searing fire was in his shoulder, the second in twelve hours, and he bellowed in pain as he hit the water.

***

It took a good amount of thrashing, but Alinnya made it into the surface, gasping for breath, not even thinking about dodging the fire hailing down on her like rain. She was relieved to hear the Flight's guns boom, causing her assault to cease momentarily. But where was Jack? There. She grabbed his arm in the water and pulled his arm out, noticing vaguely the blood coming from his shirt. He was unconscious, or something damned close. She put as much pressure on his chest as she could, hoping it could help in avoiding sharks, and pushed him to the Flight, grabbing the rope that was thrown toward them. They were dragged to the ship amazingly quick. Just before they were going to be hauled up on deck, she noticed the dorsal fin. Undeterred by the bullets or the guns, the shark smelled blood, and planned to get it. Blood. Jack's blood. Alinnya snapped, and just as the dorsal fin was almost in range, she used the rope as leverage and slammed both feet toward the intruder, feeling the leather of her boots connect with a bone-shattering intensity as they were pulled out of the water. She held on, not just for her own life, but his, as they were pulled on board, and the crew backed away from their pale, deathly captain and a bedraggled first mate. She tore his shirt off, gazing in shock at the two holes near his chest, one slightly scabbed and even a little infected, the other raw and oozing blood.

"Rum," her voice was mechanic. "Now!" she screamed at the immobile crew. "Set sail. Head west, north, wherever. Get us out of this cove. The Brits'll be here any minute. You and you," she pointed at two random pirates, "get him in the captain's quarters. Get him out of those clothes. You," she stared the galleyboy dead in the eyes. "I need the strongest alcohol we have. I need thread, a needle, clean towels, and clean hot water. Go." She looked down at Jack, almost forgetting the bustling activity on deck as her hand sought out his. "Don't you die on me yet," she whispered, her face in a grimace to hold back her tears. She nodded to the men she'd instructed to carry him, and they picked him up gently and carried him away.

She noticed, though, as they were walking past her, the shark tooth embedded in Jack's boot.

It's not every day Alinnya Sheridan was nauseous.

***

Author's Chronicle

Oh, I love you all. All these reviews, all good ones. I don't know how to respond, so I shall respond to each of you!

Kitty-Kat26- my first reviewer, I love you dearly, and thank you so much for the praise. I wasn't sure I was going to continue this until you told me you liked it!

Angelkeety- Really? I never would have guessed I'm a descriptive writer. Everyone actually tells me otherwise.

XtineSparrowDepp- I don't know what to say! I'm on your favorites list? I couldn't ask for higher praise.

Pirate'sRedWinter- Thank you! I love your name, may I inquire as to the meaning?

Ani Sparrow- I love the fact that you read it at all, much less that you like it! To be reviewed by a writer you admire is high praise, indeed! To me anyway. *grin* And writing the backstories to all the things that happens to Jack is one of my favorite parts- I'm glad someone enjoys reading them!

Mysticknight13- I love the name to. It just fits. And can't you just hear Johnny Depp *saying* it? *swoon* I'm glad you've liked it!

Kaya- Thanks!

Ang- Wow! Cool coincidence! They end up in Singapore eventually, but- *clamps mouth*  I better not give away anymore plot!

MsBrooklyn- I was trying to get some foreshadowing in there- it's awesome you picked up on it!

Sereture- I don't know if there is anything really original. Just many different ways of doing the same thing- stick ourselves in a daydream with Jack Sparrow! Some like to do it in a you-jack mode, some of us like to do it through someone else's perspective. Some people just want to read a good story. I just want to write one, and I'm proud of my reviews! As few, or many, as they may be. As for how Alinnya met Jack… I thought I made that relatively clear at the beginning, but I planned on putting more into it anyway. Be patient. *wink*

Kenshin13- you are the single most steadfast reviewer I've had on this story. I don't know how to thank you enough. I really don't. I catch myself checking my reviews just to see if you've read it yet!

Sapphireangel315- yes, it is obsession, love, but I do it too, so I won't say anything. *wink* That's great praise, and I shall do my damndest not to let you down!

Janni-chan1- yes, there was a quiz, no he didn't take notes. Quite frankly, he failed it, and now he's gotta take the lesson over!

Wicklowe- thank you! I've read so many Mary Sue fics myself, and it's hard to get past them, I write original character relationships, and I get that called on me a lot, and for someone to assure me the complete opposite- I'm touched. Honestly.

Nefarious Coda- well, thank you. You tip your hat, I bow. I am incredibly grateful.

Beringae- just wait. They all keep saying Alinnya is a mystery woman, and they're right. You don't know the half of her yet. Not even Jack does. He thinks he does, but we all know Jack Sparrow- Captain Jack Sparrow. Beautiful and distant is a marvelous way to put it. Can I borrow that?

Just a Johnny fan- you go and give me a paragraph on my characterization of Jack and the background of Alinnya, two thinks I put an INCREDIBLE amount of work into. A paragraph, a paragraph, of real, honest-to-god praise on two things I busted my ass trying to get right. *bows* I am not worthy.

I am trying to write longer chapters, everyone, believe me, but it's between that and more updates. It all works out almost the same. Thank you!

Oh, and for the record, my work on Ceylon was based on a 1688 British map that I found online. Bengale really was a city back then, though I may've mistook the countries and topography to suit my uses. I have the map downloaded, if you'd like the reference, and I'll email it to you.