You Forget One Very Important Thing Mate – (4)
This girls a better fighter than she gives herself credit for! Jack though, as they boarded the ship and Ashley began to fight off the merchants – who were desperately trying to defend themselves and their goods.
She took a sharp swing at one, which made him bump into the side of the ship, and fall overboard. Another had her backed up into a corner, but she slipped between his legs, disarmed him, and tied him to the mast along with most of the other merchants. Jack didn't kill the people he raided, he wasn't that cold hearted. He simply took what he wanted and left them on their boat. He didn't care if they went back and alerted whatever port they came from about him. He already had a lot of shillings on his head. A few more wouldn't make any difference.
"Prepare to be beaten by a girl!" exclaimed Ashley as she crossed blades with another merchant.
She fought with him for sometime, their swords clanged together; each was equal to the other. It just took one little moment for the merchant to slip his guard, and Ashley had him tied up with the rest. In this short time, the crew had pilfered anything of real value – and it was now loaded onto the Pearl.
"Gentlemen, today is the day you will always remember as the day that you were defeated by Captain Jack Sparrow and the crew of The Black Pearl. Don't think of us to badly, we didn't kill ye, did we?" Jack smirked as he swung off of the boat and back onto the Pearl.
Ashley was sat on the deck watching the crew as they looked through everything, wondering if there was anything there that she might like. However, her thoughts were constantly interrupted by the ramblings of one particular man.
"Wha' is it now Turner?" She asked impatiently, walking up to him.
"I just thought you'd like these," Will said, heaving the load he carried into her arms.
She laughed as she noted the frilly dresses, in pastel colours and lace - and placed them back into his hands "I appreciate the thought, Will, but in case you didn't quite notice I would never be seen dead in one of them things,"
"But…" Will began, before stopping and realising it was no good trying. Instead he began helping the crew to put everything in the hold.
"You did some good fighting there, Ashley!" Jack cheered, walking over to her.
"Thank the boys of the streets, not me," Ashley replied.
"Aye, but the boys of the streets aren't here are they? You're the girl of the streets so I'll be thankin' you," Jack said, handing her a pistol.
She checked it for shots, it was fully loaded. "Wha' do ye mean by this Captain?"
"I mean, by the looks of things, you can handle a blade well, I don't see why you can't be the same with a pistol," Jack exclaimed.
"Aye," Ashley agreed, putting the pistol on her belt.
"Now, scrub the decks!" Jack shouted, Ashley rolled her eyes at him before walking to the cupboard where the brush and bucket were kept.
It was very late, most of the crew were down in their cabin drinking and gambling. Will was already asleep, Jack was in his cabin and Ashley stood out on the deck.
"Well, that was another eventful day," she muttered, sitting down and trying to claw the knots in her hair out with her hands. She heard the crew burst out laughing, probably over some vulgar joke about women.
"Men," She sighed, climbing to the top of the crow's nest with a practised ease.
She felt happy that night, and slowly sang to herself:
"The salty breezes whisper
who knows what lies ahead
I just know I was born to lead the life my father led!"
She felt foolish and so didn't continue to sing, she just hummed the tune to herself. Little knowing that Captain Jack Sparrow himself stood below her on the deck she had been scrubbing all day.
(Jacks POV)
I sat at my desk with a bottle of rum in my hand, when I heard what sounded to be a woman singing. I stepped out on deck; nobody was around, that I could see. The voice was coming from above, the crows nest. It was Ashley, she hadn't seen me, though she soon stopped and just hummed the song. I had come to the conclusion that she may well be my daughter by now, there were so many clues that lead to it, but I wasn't going to say anything. If she wasn't going to admit it, than neither was I.
Her humming stopped, and I was about to walk back to my cabin, hoping that she wouldn't notice that I'd been listening to her. My plan failed.
"Captain?" She asked, stepping down onto the deck.
"Aye?" I asked.
"How long have you been here?" She asked, looking around her.
"Not long, why?" I replied.
"Oh..no reason," Ashley said, beginning to walk down into the galley.
I followed her.
"Are ye sure there isn't anything ye wanted?" She asked, grabbing a slice if bread and eating it slowly.
"No, I'm sure love," I answered, walking over to a barrel and taking out a fresh bottle of rum.
Her eyes widened when she saw this, but they soon assumed their normal form when I saw her face.
"Ye like rum?" I asked her curiously.
"Aye, who doesn't?. Don't be telling Will though, he'll probably attempt to give me another one o' his little speeches,"
I laughed to myself, Well if she wasn't my daughter than whose was she?
She finished her slice of bread and broke the silence. "Well, I'm goin' to sleep now. Night Captain,"
Jack nodded and as she walked out of the galley he muttered "Night…Ashley..Sparrow,"