Disclaimer: Please. I barely own my sanity.
AN: Yay! Pirates won favorite movie of the year on the People's choice awards! I was so happy I think my parents thought I was crazy.
AN2: Sorry it took so long, but I have had extreme writers block with this story. But I have finally pushed past it and written the end of this chapter that has been in the process of being written since before Sui Generis was complete. I hope you like it!
Oil Pastel: I guess he loved her in his own little way. Daveigh, Templeton's sister, wasn't just a one night stand in Tortuga for him. She was someone that he could probably see himself being with for a long time. It's really hard to explain, tho. . .
Ashes to Ashes
Chapter 6: ThoughtsAshleigh sat on the small cot in her small cabin. Her legs were pressed against her chest, her arms wrapped around her knees. She had released her hair from its bindings so it hung around her face in long tangled black strands. Her green eyes were gazing blankly at the wall, her thoughts lost in the silence. Had she really been about to kiss the infamous Captain Jack Sparrow? Had she really been about to go against everything that she had been taught?
"Of course not," she whispered to herself. "I would do no such thing."
Her thoughts rolled around in her mind, thoughts of times past and thoughts of things that had happened in the present. Questions scattered themselves in her brain, questions about her life, her family and current events. How could she have been about to do something like that? How could she have been about to kiss a pirate?
Because you have feelings that are unused and because you have questions about things you feel that you cannot answer, a voice in her head told her.
Ashleigh shook her head, attempting to remove the voice from her mind. She told herself it wasn't true, that she, a Lady, would never try to kiss someone like that. But then, her thoughts turned to Elizabeth and Will. Elizabeth had told Ashleigh that she considered Will to be a pirate. She had told her that his father was a pirate, although they had been told that he had been a good man. But how could a pirate be a good man? She wondered.
A sudden knock on her cabin door interrupted her thoughts. She stayed silent for a moment, hoping that maybe if she stayed quiet, whoever was knocking on her door would go away. She was disappointed, however, when the knock sounded again. "Oh, go away," she whispered.
"Ash?" a female voice called. "Ash, may I come in?"
"Um . . . um yes, please do," she called back. Seconds later, the door opened to reveal AnaMaria standing in the doorway.
"You alright, lass?" AnaMaria asked.
"I'm fine, thank you. I just . . . needed to think for a moment."
AnaMaria nodded slowly, stepping fully into the room and shutting the door behind her. "I see he worked his charms on you, Ash."
"Who?" Ashleigh asked, feigning ignorance.
"Jack Sparrow, of course. He has a way of charming the women."
Ashleigh looked down at her knees. "Of course he does. I would expect nothing less of a pirate captain, especially one of his nature."
"He does seem fond of the ladies, doesn't he?"
Ashleigh nodded, her chin still resting on her knees. "I always dreamt of a life like this, you know?"
"A life like what?" AnaMaria asked, sitting down on the bed next to her.
"A life with adventure and excitement. When we were younger, Elizabeth and I made a bet to see which one of us would live the most exciting life. So far, I think she has won."
"And why would you believe that? I doubt she has lived any more of an exciting life than you have."
Ashleigh turned her head to look the older woman in the eye. "Elizabeth moved out to the Caribbean, becoming the daughter of the Governor of Port Royal. She has met up with pirates, don't ask me how, and fallen in love with a wonderful man. That is all I have ever asked for, something to get me away from this boring life, this life of rules and regulations. I want out of a life where women stand behind men, where we hide what we think and feel," she stopped for a moment, her eyes gazing into AnaMaria's. "I wish I could be more like you, AnaMaria. You stand up to people without a second thought. You are not afraid of what people think of you."
"A pirate's life is not so simple, Ash. Sure, it may seem like we have it easy, a simple life of raiding and pillaging, and of course the occasional battle with the Royal Navy, but we have our hardships as well. Granted, it is not so difficult since I follow one of the best pirate captain's in the Caribbean, but we have our own faults."
"But your life seems so free."
"Aye, Ash, it may seem freer than yours, and in a way, it is. But you will see what it is actually like as you work on this ship with Jack and his crew. We are different than other pirates, Ash, but only because of what we've seen in our lives. I think I've seen more in the last two years, then I'd seen in my entire lifetime."
"Like what?" Ashleigh asked.
AnaMaria smiled. "That's a story for another night, Ash, one that doesn't need to be spoken of right now."
Ashleigh nodded. "How do you know Will and Elizabeth?"
AnaMaria laughed. "That is all part of the story, mate. I'm sure Jack will tell you about it eventually, for it is actually not my place to tell you," she paused. "Elizabeth didn't tell you about it?"
Ashleigh shook her head. "No."
"How odd."
"Why? Why is it odd?"
AnaMaria stood up quickly and placed her hand on Ashleigh's shoulder. "A tale for another time, lass. For now, you must get sleep."
Ashleigh sat up quickly. "But, wait, why. . ."
AnaMaria shook her head. "Another time. Get some sleep, Jack'll want ya awake before dawn, there's work ta be done."
Ashleigh sat back down on her cot, nodding slowly. She sighed slightly as AnaMaria left her cabin, shutting the wooden door behind her.
Elizabeth sat next to the small cot that Will occupied in the doctor's hut. Captain Templeton had kept her word and delivered them to the doctor so that Will could get treated for the gun shot wound in his shoulder. She leaned over him slightly, gently touching his chest. "Oh God, Will. Why did this happen to us? We haven't seen Jack in almost two years. Why would this all happen now?"
"Because life sucks," Will answered weakly.
Elizabeth stared down at him. She was worried about him. His normally optimistic attitude had been replaced by a harsh, pessimistic one. She worried that he would do himself harm by feeling like this. "No, Will, it doesn't. We still have each other. We're still together. We can't let them win. As much as I find it odd saying this, but I believe Jack will save us. He will find us."
Will opened his eyes slowly. "You really believe that?"
Elizabeth stroked Will's forehead slowly, her fingers tracing the lines on his skin. "Yes, my love, I do."
The sun beat down cruelly on Ashleigh's neck, causing her skin to feel like it was burning. She tightened the thick rope again and then stood up, wiping off her throat and face with the back of her grimy hand. Her eyes glanced over the other men, and woman, on the deck of the ship, taking in the other pirates that were working. She turned her attention to Jack as he stood at his helm, his eyes gazing out into the endless ocean, never actually looking down at his crew.
Ashleigh glanced over at AnaMaria and jerked her head up at her as she walked over to where the pirate stood. "I'm going to get something to eat, I'll be right back."
"Make it quick, lass, more work needs ta be done."
Ashleigh nodded and then turned on her heel and started to walk quickly towards the galley.
Ashleigh sat at the small, wooden table, eating a small bit of fish and drinking a small glass of warm water. She had her head lowered, her hat sitting on the table next to her. A plate was set down on the table as another form sat down in front of her in the other seat. She didn't raise her head, just sat and ate her food quickly so that she could resume her chores.
"Yer gonna have ta look up eventually, lass," a male voice said.
Ashleigh's head jerked up at the voice to find Jack sitting in front of her. "Oh, um, Captain, good afternoon."
Jack's eyebrows rose. "Afternoon."
Ashleigh jumped to her feet quickly, scooting her chair back. "I should be getting back to my work, Captain," she said, starting to move away from the table.
"Sit down, Ashleigh," he said.
Ashleigh stopped in her tracks as he said her name. He had put so much authority into those three words that it had caused her to freeze her movements. She looked down at him, her eyes wide. She sat down slowly, her eyes never moving from Jack's form. "I'm. . . I'm sorry, sir."
Jack looked up at her slowly. "Fer what?"
Ashleigh opened her mouth to reply and then closed it as she found that she had no answer. She lowered her head again, looking down at her hands that lay on the tabletop. "I don't know."
"Then what were you apologizin' for?"
"I. . . I don't know."
"If you don't know what yer apologizin' for, you shouldn't do it," he replied, a crazy grin spreading on his face.
She looked up at him and then looked back down. "Um, about last night?"
Jack took a bite of his food, his eyes gazing at her lowered head. "What about it?"
"I'm, um, I'm sorry. I didn't expect things to happen that way."
Jack's eyebrows rose again as he slowly chewed his lunch. "So you meant to stay?"
Ashleigh looked up sharply. "No. . . I. . . I meant I didn't expect. . ."
Jack held up a hand, laughing. "I know what ya meant, love, I was just teasin' ya."
"Well, that wasn't very nice," she replied, anger starting to swell up and swatting his upraised hand. How could he tease about something like that? "I thought you were being serious."
Jack opened his mouth to say something but Ashleigh stopped him. "But who was I kidding? Jack Sparrow cannot be serious in any part of his life, not even when his friends are in danger," she replied angrily, getting up quickly and starting to walk out of the galley up to the deck.
Jack jumped up quickly from the table, grabbing hold of her wrist and pushing her up against the wall of the room, pressing up against her to hold her in place. "If you wish to see me serious, then pay attention to me now, lass. I take the condition that my friends are in very seriously. I have thought of nothing but their safety since I have found out about their situation. I have never taken anything else more serious in my life, save for the commandeering of my ship and the mutiny of my crew," he said, pushing his face close to hers, his eyes blazing with unspoken, mild anger.
Ashleigh leaned her head back as far as she could with the wall behind her head. "You have yet to say anything serious about the present. You were serious about your past, Captain, but about nothing taking place in the present."
"You know nothing, love," he hissed, "of anything I talk about save for perhaps your friends. You know nothing of what I have been through or have had to deal with. So you can say nothing about how serious I can or cannot be."
Ashley was silent as she stared up into his blazing eyes. She could see controlled anger in them. Never before had she seen such anger in one person, not even in her father who could frighten away men with but a glare. Nor had she seen so much anger directed at one person, least of all directed at her. "Let me go, Captain."
"Not until you understand one thing, lass. You do not speak of my past, or of how I deal with things taking place. . ."
His words were cut off as a pair of soft lips was placed against his. His grip on Ashleigh's wrist lightened as the shock of the kiss wore off. She broke away slightly moments later, keeping her mouth close to his. "You always seem to push me against a wall, Captain," she whispered, and then pressed her lips to his again.
AN: Up next, Chapter 7: Emotions.
Plz r/r!!!!!!