*Disclaimer* You know the drill, I don't own Jack, Riddick, Carolyn, or Johns… and I am making no money, so don't sue me. So go read the story, okay? It's not like people read these things with real seriousness anyways…

Jack glared at Riddick, fury blazing in her eyes. " You will address me better than that in public, Riddick."

Hautily, he laughed threw the dagger in the air, then caught it, and sheathed it. " We will be married, my dear Aster… I can say anything I wish to say to you in public. Women are so much lower than men like me." He said, stepping a few feet closer.

" Do not try me Riddick. You said rule together. I will kill you while you sleep, Riddick."

Riddick shrugged, never breaking the gaze. " You will try, Aster, try. Oh, I was not saying I would speak to you like that, but it's perfectly acceptable."

" To them!" She threw her arms up, then stared back at him, hands on her hips. " To them," She said a little bit quieter, then added, " But not to me. I will have no man speak down to me."

" I have not, Jack, not in public."

" Oh but you'll try, just like every other man. You would end up like Johns, trying to pick up my scraps from the table." She muttered and turned away from him, sitting down on her makeshift bed, her hand rubbing inbetween her eyes, trying to calm herself down. She had to stay calm around Riddick, otherwise he might get the best of her.

He stepped in front of her, bending down and looked up into her eyes as she raised them to his.

Just for a moment, Jack's breath caught and it wasn't from fear, but from pure unadulterated lust in Riddick's eyes. Figure a man for thinking of something other than war at a time like this she thought to herself and turned her eyes to another corner of the tent. Anything but looking at him right now.

" I do not know why you hate me so, Aster, but I do intend to find out." He stroked her cheek softly and left the tent. He sighed as he stood outside the tent, peering towards the clouds. That had not gone the way he had planned it.

Jack sat in her tent, still a little weary of him. She wouldn't let any man get to her, she could't… not after… She shook off the old feelings of desperation and started to drift off into sleep. She would deal with Riddick tommorow, and then sent their troops out for hopefully the last battle. Then, she would rule Sybil.

****

Jack tapped her foot incessantly, a little bit annoyed, a little bit tired, and mostly, extremely weary of Riddick. She held the reins in one hand and rubbed her face for a second. She turned her horse around and stared back at her troops. Carolyn sat on her horse, her face weary and her blue eyes so dull and lifeless. " Wake up, Carolyn, we have things to do. You can't appear like that to these people. They take women less serious like men, because of women like you don't have enough respect to keep their head up."

Carolyn muttered and apology and lifted her chin and looked around.

Jack sighed. When would Riddick get here? Hearing a loud rumble coming from the south, she pulled the reins, and kicked the horse and ran to the back of her army. Riddick aprroached, most of his army on horses, then there were archers following behind.

Riddick galloped up to Jack and sent her a fleeting smile.

" I did not think you would arrive, Riddick."

" Oh, Jack, have more faith in me than that. I would never miss the chance to have you by my side." He grinned at her.

Jack turned from him for a second, then said, " So are your troops going to be ready?"

" I was more worried about yours Jack."

" Oh and why? Because I am a woman?" She screeched, pulled her dagger out and held it close to his chest.

He shoved her hand away easily. " Not that, Jack. The time you gave them was little to even prepare."

Jack muttered a curse and sheathed her dagger. " They know what they need to do, and the time I gave them was more than enough, Riddick." She growled, then sighed. She had to stop the petty fighting if she wanted to take over these lands faster, and with less bloodshed, even as much as Jack loved the rush of fighting.

" Are you preparing to fight anytime soon, Jack?"

She glared at him for a moment. " Quiet, Riddick. Just let me think for a moment… there's something pulling at my brain, and I must figure out what." Something kept telling her that there was something better here to attack than the village, but she couldn't figure out what. Riddick would't know, so she could not ask him. Maybe… Xanthe, she would know. She looked up to the clouds, and yelled, " Xanthe, come to me sister."

A flash of light appeared a few seconds later and she appeared, a serene look on her face. She took a few steps closer to Jack and smiled at her. " What do you need, Jacqueline?"

Jack cringed at the name, but dismissed it, then asked, " Why do I feel that there is something better than the village here, Xanthe? You must know."

" Ah, I do, my dear. There is a castle, I believe it's Ariago's castle. It rules over that town, but it is a few miles away from it." Xanthe eyed her sister. " Are you going to go after the castle, sister?"

" I believe so. It would be much smarter to go for the real fighters, than to kill peasants, and unnecessarily."

" Oh, Jack, you are so heartwarming." Xanthe said sarcastically.

Jack turned from her sister. " Xanthe, watch your tone. I do not take it lightly, but thank you for the information, nonetheless, sister."

Xanthe smiled at her, then towards Riddick, who had said nothing yet. " It was my pleasure Jack, but make sure you are watching yourself. The gods do not like the two of you together. You could do almost anything, and it worries them."

" It should." Riddick grinned and watched as Xanthe dissapeared.

" Riddick, we should send a few riders to approach the castle, and then report back to us."

He thought about it for a moment, then waved his hand to two of his riders who started to run. " Find the castle, and soon, or I will have your heads."

One of them turned back, stunned for a moment, then kicked his horse hard, and they dissapeared into the forest.

" Does that satisfy you, Jack?"

" Riddick, you can never satisfy my needs, I assure you." She smirked and pulled on her horse's reins, and she slowly moved back up to Johns and Carolyn. She looked towards Carolyn, who needed sleep dearly, and Johns for that matter. She looked at the two of them sharply, then it clicked in her brain. Johns and Carolyn… she sighed. She would have to kill them both now. She knew Johns was a traitor; Riddick had confirmed her suspiscions, but now they were sleeping together, so it was plausible that Carolyn would be in the plan.

She didn't know whether to kill them now or later. She mused on later, at least then she could use them for the upcomind battle. " Riddick, may I talk to you for a moment?"
Riddick galloped up next to her. " What do you wish to speak upon, Jack?"
" Look back at Carolyn and Johns. Does anything seem a little bit similar in their demeanors today, or is that just my perception?"

He studied the both of them for a moment, then grinned toh imself. " Oh they look similar alright. They both have a very lethargic energy around them. I believe something went on last night, my dear Aster."

" Stop calling me that, Riddick." She growled towards him. " I told you not to address me like that in public."

" Does that mean I can in private?" He whispered close to her ear, just loud enough for her to hear.

She shivered as his warm breath touched her neck and Jack turned, then forced herself to glare at him, although she wanted to do anything but that. " Riddick, do not test me. I am very short on patience today. Back to the subject, what shall we do about those two? I think I should use them for the battle today, then kill them after, or sometime relatively close to that."

He didn't answer, but sat on his horse, watching the forest, waiting for his riders to return.

Jack sighed and turned from him. She supposed that the conversation wouldn't continue, not until at least after the end of the battle. Jack slowly thought of all the lives she would kill, how she would destroy homes, and her mood sombered. Dismmissing the depressing though, she called Johns up next to her. She had a plan, to at least kill him, perhaps not Carolyn, not just yet. " Johns."

" Yes, m'lady?"

She flashed a sweet smile at him. " You look very tired, I am surprised, did you have a late night?"

" Only going over plans for you."

" That was very charitable of you, Johns. As soon as we destroy these people, I would like to speak to you in my quarters, privately." She batted her eyelashes at him and drew him into her slow, seductive gaze.

Johns grinned at her. " Anything for you." He bowed his head to hers and moved back next to Carolyn.

Riddick heard the whole conversation and it set his teeth on edge. What was she trying to pull over on him? Was she planning to kill him alone? It would make sense, considering Johns would think that the meeting would be less than valorous. Riddick closed his eyes and waited until his riders returned, then, they would attack.

***

Jack watched them fight, with idle interest. The riders had returned, and the castle was, unfortantly, notified of their army approaching. Too bad that no one of them would live to tell the tale of even seeing her army fight. She looked over at Riddick, who was fighting with fierce will and sheer brutality. It made her skin tingle. Blood was splashed on his skin like paint, and she loved watching every second of it.

" Why are you not fighting, dear sister?" Xanthe said quietly into her sisters ear.

She jumped and looked over at Xanthe, a frown appearing on her face. " I will, when I am called upon."
" I did not think you would miss any fight." Xanthe said, trying to goad her into fighting.

Jack clenched her teeth. " Xanthe, if you want to see me fight, you just need to ask." She said, and kicked her horse, and ran into battle, willingly.

Xanthe watched, and sighed. Her sister was sometimes too bloodthirsty. Only sometimes though. She fought with a passion, a passioin that no normal man could tame… but Riddick, he could have a chance at Jack's heart. A heart she kept from everyone, especially men, since her first husband tried to use it against her.

Jack killed relentlessly, killing one, then going for the next man she could find. She looked towards Riddick quickly, then back to the man in front of her. She grabbed her dagger quickly, grabbed him, pulled her against her body, slashed his throat, then dropped him to the ground. She sidestepped the next man who rushed towards her and swung out with her hand, cutting a clear wound in his stomach.

Jack gave no more notice, and ran forward quickly, trying to make her way to the gate. She felt the pain burst into her stomach and looked down. An arrow had clearly hit her. She grunted, and broke off the end, and kept moving forward. She would get inside, hurt or not.

Riddick saw Jack stumble for a moment, then run towards the gate. She wouldn't make it in, not wounded. He moved quickly over the dead bodies, and ran towards her quickly, ducking arrows and jumping over bodies. He grabbed one of the ropes and grappled up the war, quickly catching up on Jack. As soon as she jumped over the walls, she knocked down a marksman, and Riddick followed. He grabbed one man, snapped his neck, and threw him over the wall. " Jack, you need to take a rest."

" Leave me be Riddick, I'll be fine." She coughed, killing the man with her knife, then running towards another, killing him, and running inside."

" Damned woman." He muttered and chased after her.

Jack saw the ruler of the castle, aptly named Ariago. She saw him look at her, fear in his face, then turn and run. " You will not get away from me so easily." She yelled and chased him.

Riddick sighed. Idiotic woman. She would get herself killed one day.

Jack grabbed Ariago as he slipped running up the stairs, looked into his eyes for a moment, and her breath caught. He was afraid of her, and it sent her on a euphoric high, then she slit his throat. She grabbed his body with one hand and dragged him up the stairs. " Riddick, assist me if you will." Jack yelled down to him.

Riddick followed closely and they stood on top of the castle, looking at their troops rallied outside, screaming and cheering as she lifted his dead body and grinned like a cat.

The fighting was over for now, Jack sighed to herself and then dropped the body over the side of the wall, and she stumbled backwards, falling into Riddick's arms. Blood was spilling out of her stomach, more than usual.

" You should have let me kill him." He said, carrying her inside, to go find a healer to help her.

" And let you get the glory Riddick? No, I can never let that happen."

He laughed and waited for a healer to come inside.

***

Jack sat in a chair, her wound still fresh, but starting to sear together. She had at least finished the siege on the castle, and Riddick had not mocked her, yet. " Riddick."

" What, Aster?"

She grimaced, and forgot her question. " Well, nevermind, Riddick, I forgot what I was going to ask of you."

" That is my charm, Jack." He grinned and sat down next to her. " How is your wound?"
" Sealed together, I happily report." She sneered at him for a moment.

" Good, then the wedding will be in two days. I will prepare the arrangements, and you will kill Johns by then, I hope?"

Jack choked and looked up at Riddick. " Are you serious?"

" Am I ever not?"

She scowled at the floor. She could not back out of it, even as much as she wanted to, she couldn't. " Fine, Riddick, I will kill him tonight, and the wedding in two days." She had two days to prepare for the worst day of her life.

TBC….

A/N: Oh mi god, thank you guys for all the reviews, please please please please keep them coming. You guys make me write, and otherwise, I wouldn't be writing. Heh. Oh yeah, for all of my other stories, I will probably have a chapter out for one of them each day. So tommorow, I will do something different than this one. So thank you all for the reviews so much and please go review again, it makes me really really happy, and happier writers mean more chapters! : ) Thanks for reading and have a good day.