Disclaimer:  the only thing I own is myself.  Like I could afford to own PoTC.

AN: okay, so if I don't do this now, I'll probably forget all about it.  I would like to thank my sister for helping me figure out why it is that this pirate captain hates Jack.  Although how anyone could ever hate Jack, I'll never know. . .

Ashes to Ashes

Chapter 4: Templeton

            Elizabeth sat in the small cell that she had woken up in.  Her head still ached, even five days after the attack.  She rested her head back against the wall of the ship, closing her eyes.  Her fingers entangled themselves in Will's hair.  She had cleaned his wound as best she could with little bandages and clean water.

            They had yet to meet the captain of The Mystic Banshee, and yet they had met almost every pirate that made bunk on this ship.  Every day, a pirate would bring down a plate of food, barely enough to fill both of their stomachs.  Elizabeth had only taken small amounts of the meals for herself, giving the rest to her hurt beloved.  He had refused to eat the first two days, but then after she continued to insist; he ate, if only small bites the first few times.

            Elizabeth looked down at her sleeping fiancée.  His face was peaceful in his slumber.  She trailed her fingers down his cheek gently so as not to wake him from the one restful sleep that he had since they had been taken aboard the ship.  She leaned over slightly and brushed her lips against his forehead.  "Ah, in't that sweet?" a gruff voice said.

            Elizabeth's head jerked up to stare at the scar faced pirate that had attacked them in Port Royal.  "What do you want?  Why did you kidnap us?"

"All very important questions I'm sure, lass, but all questions fer the cap'n."

"Then I would like to meet the captain.  If you will not give me answers, then I would like to talk with him."

The man smirked slightly.  "The cap'n'll meet wit' ya when. . ."

"When I damn well feel like it," a voice said above them.

Elizabeth turned her head to her right, staring up at the stairs that led up to the upper deck of the ship.  Standing mid-way down the staircase was a tall woman.  Her dark brown hair was pulled back in a loose pony-tail and her dark eyes glared down at everyone that stood in front of her.  She wore a pair of black breeches and a loose black shirt open to mid-chest.  Her sword and gun hung around her waist.  "So these are the two most important people in Jack Sparrows life?"

"Aye, Cap'n," the scarred man replied.  "Found them in Port Royal, jus' like the man said."

"Good," she replied walking down the last few steps into the brig.  "Welcome aboard The Mystic Banshee, Miss Swann, I have some important plans for you and your beloved."

"You're plans will have to wait.  Will won't make it much longer if he doesn't see a doctor.  Whatever plans you have for us, will be destroyed if he dies.  I'm sure Jack Sparrow would not take it lightly if he does."

The captain stared down at her, narrowing her eyes slightly.  She glanced down at the wounded Will and then back up to meet Elizabeth's eyes.  "We'll be makin' berth in two days time.  He'll see a doctor then.  Can you be satisfied with that?"

Elizabeth nodded slowly, unsure of what to make out of this new development.  Perhaps this pirate captain wasn't as she let on.  "Yes, thank you.  But please, until then, may I have clean water and bandages?  The wound may already be infected."

The captain looked down at her, saying nothing.  Then, she waved her hand at the scarred man behind her, dismissing him to get what Elizabeth had requested.  "I am Captain Alexi Templeton."

"I would give you my name, Captain, but it appears you already know it."

Templeton smiled.  "That's true, Miss Swann."

"What do you want with us?  What did we do to you?"

"You did nothing, but a friend of yours did."

"You mean Jack Sparrow?  So you kidnap us to get to him?  Why even bring us into your little feud?"

"Little feud?" Templeton repeated, her eyes seeming to grow darker.  "This is no little feud.  He deserves to die."

Elizabeth drew back in shock.  The hatred that Templeton possessed seemed to grow ten times worse than it had been before.  The anger in her eyes was clearly visible.  "No person deserves to die," she replied.

"Oh?" Templeton said, her eyebrows rising.  "What about the pirates you and Mr. Turner killed two years ago?  Did they deserve to die?"

"That was different," Elizabeth answered.  "They were already dead."

"Ah yes, the little curse that everyone talks about.  The little curse and the wonderful heroics of Captain Jack Sparrow.  Don't make me laugh.  Sparrow is a cutthroat and a bastard.  He deserves to die for what he did."

"What did he do?  Why does he deserve to die?  Why do we deserve to be brought into this?  We haven't even seen Jack Sparrow since he got the Black Pearl back!  We have had no communication with him!"

"He considers you his friends.  That is all I the information I need.  I will get my revenge on him."

"What did he do," Will asked, waking up from the light slumber.  "Leave you stranded on an island?  Did he sleep with you and then leave before you woke up?"

Templeton slammed her fist into the bars.  "Do not mock me, Mr. Turner.  I hold your life in my hands."

Will sat up slowly, wincing as he pulled the wound in his shoulder.  "No, Jack does."

Templeton's eyes narrowed.  "Then you had better pray that he finds you."

With that, she turned around and walked up the stairs, leaving them in silence once more.

Jack stood at the helm of the Black Pearl, his fingers caressing the wood of his wheel.  His eyes gazed out over the darkened ocean, the wind whipped at his unruly hair.  His right hand fingered the small wooden box that hung at his side.  A smile made its way across his mouth as memories of two years past entered his mind.

Footsteps echoed on the stairs leading up to where he stood.  He glanced over to see Ash walking up to him.  He tipped his head back slightly in acknowledgement and then turned back to the quiet water.  "Captain Sparrow?"

After a moment, Jack looked over at her.  As he had promised, he had given her a bandana to tie her hair up with.  She had placed the brown hat back on her head, hiding the little bit of hair that still hung around her face.  Two days ago, when they had reached the ship, Jack had introduced her as Ash, a male apprentice of William Turner and a friend of Elizabeth Swann's.  The entire crew had welcomed her, and even Gibbs seemed not to notice anything amiss.  AnaMaria on the other hand had said nothing, merely staring at Jack and Ash.

"Can I help you?" he replied.

"I, um, wanted to thank you, for allowing me to join you on the hunt for Will and Elizabeth."

Jack laughed.  "I don't think you would've let me do otherwise.  You would've followed me to me Pearl anyway."

Ashleigh smiled.  "You're right.  I would have.  I don't give up that easily.  But. . ."

"But, what?"

"You seemed to be more worried about them after I showed you the picture.  I just. . . I just wondered why."

Jack was silent for a moment, but continued to stare at her.  Suddenly, he turned away from her and started to walk away.  Ashleigh watched him go, her head cocked to one side, wondering what this man was thinking.  He paused and looked behind him.  "You coming?" he asked.

Ashleigh nodded and followed him down the stairs and into his cabin.

Templeton walked down the stairway, looking down at her feet.  She stopped in front of the cell that held Elizabeth and Will and stared down at them.  The two lovebirds slept next to each other, Elizabeth sleeping on Will's chest.  "You would never understand," she whispered and then took a drink from the mug of rum that she held.  "You're too pure hearted.  Just like she was."

"Who was?"

Templeton jumped slightly as Elizabeth spoke up.  "Thought you were asleep."

"I was.  You woke me when you walked down the stairs.  Who was too pure hearted?"

Templeton's eyes narrowed.  "My sister," she replied, sitting down on a barrel across from the cell.  "She was too bloody pure hearted to realize that you can't trust anybody but yerself."

"Is that why you are after Captain Sparrow?  Did he hurt your sister?" she asked, sitting up slowly.

"No."

Elizabeth was silent for a moment, and then asked, "Did he . . . did he kill her?"

"He was responsible for her death."

Jack sat down at his desk, propping his feet up on the dark wood.  He placed his hat on the desktop and then waited for Ashleigh to sit down.  He watched as she took off her own hat, and then removed the red bandana that bound her hair.  He followed the long tresses with his eyes as they fell down past her shoulders.  His eyes went to meet hers as she pulled her fingers through the knots in her dark hair.

He leaned back slowly in his seat, lifting the front legs of the chair off of the floor.  "Aye.  It bothered me ta see my tattoo on that paper, because that meant that they were taken because of me."

"Why would you think that?  You have no proof."

Jack pulled the little piece of paper from his vest pocket and unfolded it, staring down at it.  He flipped the paper over in his hand and held it up for her to see.  On the back was an image of a small building, something much like an ancient temple.  "This is the marking of a woman by the name of Alexi Templeton.  She's a pirate captain I've known her for about five years."

"But why would she want you?"

"Because she blames me for her sister's death."

"Jack Sparrow," Templeton said, spitting the name out as if it was a poison on her tongue.  "was responsible for killing my sister.  He acted like a coward and hid behind a woman when another pirate shot at him.  That woman was my sister.  She had made the mistake of falling in love with him and believing that he loved her and would protect her.  But he proved her wrong."

Elizabeth said nothing for Jack had done something similar to that when they had first met.  After he had saved her life, though, and when Norrington and her father had threatened to kill him.  "Jack wouldn't do that," she said finally.

"Don't tell me what he wouldn't do!" Templeton yelled, jumping to her feet.  "I was there.  I saw what he did!  And I will get my revenge on him!"

"Templeton's sister. . . I met her in Tortuga once.  We were lovers for awhile until one night when I was in a fight with another pirate.  He had a friend hiding behind me and she noticed him.  The man pulled a gun to shoot me in the back, but she jumped in the way.  The bullet caught her in the heart," he stopped for a moment, closing his eyes.  "She died in my arms."

Ashleigh said nothing.  She had never lost someone, save for her mother, but she had died soon after she was born so she had not known her.  Even though Jack was trying to hide his emotions, she could see how much this was hurting him.  "I'm sorry."

Jack shook his head.  "Templeton came in at the end.  All she saw was her sister getting shot and dying in my arms.  She assumed that I hid behind her sister to save myself."

He pulled his feet off of his desk and leaned forward, putting the two chair legs back on the floor.  He lowered his head and placed his hands on the desk.  Jack said nothing until a warm hand made its way onto his.  He looked up at Ashleigh looking at him, sympathy evident in her eyes.  He pulled back slightly and then pulled his hands away.  "Anyway," he said, his voice going back to its normal slurred state.  "Templeton probably took the whelp and his lass to get to me.  I'm vaguely sure they'll make berth somewhere to restock whatever supplies they didn't get from raiding Port Royal and that's when we'll get them."

Ashleigh stared at him, slightly taken aback when he had pulled away.  She knew he was hurting on the inside, but refused to show it.  Suddenly, before she could say anything, the door to his cabin flew open revealing an angry AnaMaria.  "I knew it," she said.

AN:  Up next, Chapter 5: On the Trail. 

Plz r/r!!!!!!