Disclaimer: I own only the characters that you don't recognize. The others I would love to own.
AN: I'm sorry that it took so long for this chapter to be uploaded. I had a slight case of writers block and my imagination died for just a short period of time. Plus, I was also very busy watching a very good six hour long Johnny Depp movie spree! But, nevertheless, here it is, and I hope you like it!
Tara: I wouldn't say that AnaMaria is jealous; it's more along the lines that she figured something wasn't right. So, she played out a hunch and found out that Ash wasn't a man.
Ashes to Ashes
Chapter 5: On the TrailJack jumped to his feet, his eyes opened wide. "AnaMaria, darling!"
"Don't you dare 'AnaMaria darling' me! You lied to me! No, not only to me, but to your crew! I am yer first mate, Jack. I deserve to know the truth!" she said, striding into the room and slamming the door.
"You're absolutely right! You do deserve to know the truth. It was Gibbs I was tryin' ta keep it from. You know how he gets when I bring another woman on board! And now you know the truth, so you really can't be mad!"
AnaMaria pointed her finger in his face, a look of anger evident on her face, and then turned her attention to Ashleigh. "And you! I don't know who you are, but. . ."
Ashleigh stood up slowly. "Please, AnaMaria, do not be mad at Captain Sparrow. It was my fault that he kept this from you. I needed his help and he agreed."
"A woman needing help from Jack Sparrow?" AnaMaria said. "What kind of help would you need from him?"
"We have friends in trouble."
"What friends?"
"Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann," Ashleigh replied, staring back up into the older woman's dark eyes.
"Will and Elizabeth? They're in trouble? Since when?" AnaMaria asked, turning her eyes to Jack. "And why didn't you tell me?" she cried, hitting him on the arm.
Jack flinched and then said, "I only just learned meself."
"When? Two days ago?"
Jack sat back down in his chair. "Aye. Two days ago. Would've told ya, AnaMaria. Just had ta wait fer the right time."
"And when would that be? When they are dead? They are my friends as well, Jack. I have a right to know."
"Very well. Will and Elizabeth were kidnapped five days ago by, at the time, an unknown pirate. Ash was there at the time and was told by Will to find me if anything happened to them."
"Do you know who it was?"
Jack looked at Ash, and then back at AnaMaria. "Aye," he said softly. "I know," he said again, then trailed off into silence, a look of pain crossing his face.
When he said no more, Ashleigh spoke up. "Her name is Templeton. Jack believes she took Will and Elizabeth to get to him."
"Templeton? Oh God Jack, I'm sorry."
"You know about Templeton?" Ashleigh asked.
"Aye," AnaMaria replied. "I know of her. I knew her sister. That was before Jack regained the Pearl though, before I was part of his crew. I was there when it happened."
Ashleigh looked down, averting her eyes. "I wish I could've done something to stop those men," she said, reaching up and touching the spot on her forehead where the pirate had kicked her. "But I wasn't strong enough."
Jack snorted. "Love, you took out a drunk pirate by yerself, I think yer strong enough."
"But I wasn't strong enough to save them, was I?"
AnaMaria touched her shoulder briefly. "You couldn't have saved them by yerself, Ash. That would have been impossible. If you at least tried, that's all that matters."
Ashleigh nodded weakly.
"We'll find them, love," Jack said. "I have a feelin' I know where they're goin'."
Elizabeth sat against the wall silently, her eyes closed, although sleep would not come to her. Will continued to move around in her lap, his eyes moving in a feverish dream. Her hands ran slowly through his hair, trying to sooth his mind. She jumped slightly as footsteps thumped down the stairs.
She opened her eyes to stare up at Captain Templeton and two other pirates, one of them being the scarred man. "Time ta leave, lass," Templeton said. "We made berth a few minutes ago."
When Elizabeth made no move to get up, Templeton narrowed her eyes. "Do you want the lad to get help or not, Miss Swann?"
"I can't carry him," Elizabeth replied quietly. "As much as I would love to, he's too heavy. I'm afraid to move him. I'm afraid I'll injure him more."
Templeton rolled her eyes, and then gestured to the men behind her. The men unlocked the cell door and walked in. They bent down over Will and Elizabeth, scooping up the unconscious Will. She held onto him for a moment longer, her fingers clinging to his shirt, and then let him go. One of the men grabbed him under his arms, the other taking hold of his feet.
Silently, the two men backed out of the cell, taking Will with them. Elizabeth stood up slowly, using her hands to pull herself up. She walked towards Templeton, keeping her eyes level with the pirate captain's. "He will see a doctor," Elizabeth said, more of a statement than a question.
Templeton gave a sarcastic half bow, "Of course, m'lady."
Ashleigh sat, her legs hanging over the side of the crows nest, staring out into the darkened night sky. The loose strands of her hair becoming tangled by the wind. Her eyes gazed off into lost memories of times when she and Elizabeth were younger. Memories of times when they were children playing in the fields of their parents houses. Those were times when they worried about nothing, when their cares were thrust into the loving caresses of the wind.
"Ash!" a voice called up to her.
Ashleigh looked down to find Jack Sparrow looking up at her. "Mind if I come up?"
"It's your ship, Captain. Do as you wish," she called back to him.
She watched for a moment as Jack started to climb up the rope ladder to meet her, and then turned her attention back to the stars. Moments later, Jack climbed into the small crows nest and sat down next to her. He said nothing for awhile, and then turned to her. "You okay, love?"
"I'm fine," she replied.
"Uh-huh," he said. "I'm sure. You can talk about it, lass. They are my friends as well."
"But you weren't there. I was. I could have stopped them."
Jack's eyes grew serious as his voice took on a sympathetic tone. "You're gonna have ta stop lettin' this eat at ya, love. It's only gonna make you feel worse."
"I already feel worse, Captain. Nothing can make it any worse."
"You're wrong, lass. If you keep thinkin' about it, if you keep lettin' it bother you, you'll fall into yer own little version of hell," he paused. "I should know. I've been there."
"Because of Templeton's sister?"
"Aye, because of Daveigh. For months after her death, I let it eat at me because I believed it was my fault."
"How did you . . .?"
A finger on her lips shushed her. "Enough for now, love. Let's talk about somethin' else," he said, his voice once again taking on its jovial tone.
Ashleigh's eyes narrowed slightly. "Like what?"
"Anythin'. Take yer pick."
"I. . . I'm not sure what would be a good topic," she replied.
"Fine, then. You said yer name was Ash. Short fer somethin', eh?"
"Yes. My full name is Ashleigh. I was named after my mother."
"Ah. Pretty name. Don't hear it much in the Caribbean."
Ashleigh looked over at him. The moonlight highlighted the dark color in his eyes and caused the beads in his hair to glow. "My family lives in England. I was here on vacation visiting Elizabeth, a sort of celebration for her upcoming wedding."
"Ah, yes. I love weddings. I plan on being there for it."
Ashleigh laughed softly. "That I would love to see."
"Perhaps ya will, love. Perhaps ya will," Jack said, and then paused, staring over at her. His fingers pushed aside a stray strand of hair that had been blown into her face, his fingertips brushing against her cheek.
Ashleigh turned to look at him only to find their faces inches apart. She fought against the urge to pull back from him. She fought against the ways that she had been raised, the practices that said that a man and woman should never be too close unless they were married or betrothed, and she and Jack were neither one. Silence reigned between them as they stared at each other.
A small smile formed on his lips as he started to lean in close to her. Ashleigh's eyes closed half way as she leaned up to meet his lips. Suddenly, her face scrunched up and she pushed against his chest, pushing herself away from him. "I'm sorry, I can't," she said, and placing her borrowed hat back over her hair, she crawled out of the crows nest and down the rope ladder to the deck of the ship, leaving Jack to stare down at her as she ran across the deck and into the cabin that he had loaned her.
AN: Up next, Chapter 6: Thoughts.
Plz r/r!!!!!!