AN: Hmmm . . . . this chapter didn't take as long as some of the others. Although, I did have extreme writers block throughout the entire chapter. But, hey, I hope you all enjoy it anyway.
Ashes to Ashes
Chapter 11: . . . Losses and Gains'It's crazy, you know, this damn dance we call life', were her last thoughts before she hit water. The crashing waves rushed over her, knocking the breath out of her lungs. She exhaled sharply, little bubbles popping out of her mouth. The salt water burned her eyes, causing her to close them immediately.
Strong arms wrapped around her waist as her consciousness slipped from her grasp. Water filled her lungs as feet kicked behind her, pushing them upward to the surface.
* * * * * *
The punch landed squarely on his jaw, sending him into the chair behind him. Jack looked up into the angry face of his attacker. Michael O'Shannon glared down at him, angry tears hovering in his eyes.
"Pirate bastard," he growled, fighting against the restraining arms of Will and AnaMaria. "You bastard! I should kill you."
Jack stared back up at him, his deadened gaze boring into Michael. "What good would it do ye, lad?"
"You lost me my sister!" Michael yelled, once again struggling against the arms holding him. "She did not deserve this! I should kill you!"
"Calm down, Captain O'Shannon," Will said, cringing when the wound in his shoulder was stretched. "This will get you no where."
Michael lashed out at Will, his fist flying at the blacksmith. Will backed away quickly to avoid being hit. A gun cocking drew all of their attention away from the British captain. The eyes fell on Jack who stood in front of them, his pistol out and aimed at Michael. His hollow gaze flickered with anger.
"You can attack me, Captain, but do not try to attack my friends or my crew," he whispered. "It was my fault Ashleigh was taken by Templeton. . ."
"Killed by her, you mean," Michael interrupted angrily.
"Templeton would not kill herself just to kill someone close to Jack, Captain," Elizabeth said softly.
"Yes, she would," Jack replied. "If doing so would make me feel as much pain as she has felt over the last few years after the loss of Daveigh, then she wouldn't hesitate to do so."
"She did not seem that insane, Jack," Will said.
"And neither do I," Jack replied, and then at the looks he received, "most of the time. And no, Captain O'Shannon, I don't believe that Ashleigh is dead. While I do believe that Templeton would go to any lengths to cause me pain, I think that she had some other plan in mind."
"Such as?" Michael asked, shrugging out of AnaMaria's grasp.
Jack un-cocked his pistol, letting his arm fall to his side. "I am vaguely sure that Templeton's crew and ship were anchored nearby to rescue her if needed. They are just as loyal to her as my crew is to me. If she had died, they would have been after us by now."
"If you believer Ashleigh is alive, then why are we not going after them now?"
"Because Templeton would expect that and be ready to blow us out of the water before we are able to fire a single shot."
"You do not know that."
Jack nodded slightly, sitting back down in his chair. "Yes, I do. If you actually know half of what you claim to know about pirates, then you would know that she wouldn't hesitate to shoot us down in cold blood," he paused, running his hands over his face. "Now, are you going to settle down and do as you're told, or am I going to have to lock you in the brig?"
* * * * * *
soft hands touched her shoulders softly, shaking her gently. "You must wake up, Miss O'Shannon. You must wake up. I need you to tell her something for me. Tell her to stop this hunt. Tell her it's useless, that none of this will bring me back. Please, Miss O'Shannon, tell her. . ."
Ashleigh's eyes flitted open, the hazy image of a red-haired woman coming into view. The moment she opened her eyes completely, though, the woman was gone, leaving nothing but a dark wooden ceiling. She sat up slowly, her body pounding with pain.
"Good to see yer awake, lass," a rough voice said.
Ashleigh looked up to see Templeton sitting on a barrel in front of her, her elbows resting on her knees.
"For awhile, I thought you'd died."
Ashleigh glared up at Templeton, pushing her dark hair away from her face. "What do you want?"
Templeton laughed. "Honestly, girl. Yer daft is you don't know what I want by now. Although, I believe I've captured something a little more important to Sparrow than those two fools he calls friends."
Ashleigh merely glared up at her, refusing to speak, as Templeton stood up slowly and walked the few steps to the cell's door. She stared down at Ashleigh for a moment, her fingers grasping the bars. "Come here, girl."
Ashleigh didn't move, just sat where she was, glaring daggers up at the pirate captain. Templeton's eyes hardened. "I said come here, girl, or I will throw you overboard and let you drown."
Ashleigh began to get up slowly, but sank back to the brig floor as a sharp pain echoed in her body. Recognizing the pain for what it was, Templeton sneered.
"He's taken you, hasn't he, lass?"
Ashleigh's head jerked up at Templeton's words, her eyes wide. "I don't know what you are talking about."
"Don't play dumb with me. I can see the pain in yer eyes."
"Have you ever thought that I'm in pain because my body was slammed into the ocean?"
Templeton's smirk widened. "I'm sure that's what it is. I took the brunt of that hit, lass, and I'm in less pain then you are. So, how long has it been, eh? A few days? Weeks?"
"I am sure that if Captain Sparrow had done such a thing, it would be of no concern of yours."
"Well put, girl, well put. I can see why he's attracted to you," Templeton replied, unlocking the cell slowly an stepping inside, leaving the door wide open behind her.
Templeton stood over her, her dark eyes glinting. In one swift movement, she grabbed hold of Ashleigh's arm and pulled her to her feet, her free hand going beneath Ashleigh's chin, forcing her to stare up into the captain's eyes.
Templeton moved Ashleigh's head back and forth so that she could see her entire face. "It could also be because you look a little like her. Did you ever think that when he was looking at you that maybe he wasn't seeing you?"
Templeton let go of Ashleigh's arm, holding her only by her chin. She ran her fingers through Ashleigh's long, black hair. "Different hair and eyes," she whispered, "but so much like her."
Ashleigh's eyes narrowed. "Daveigh?" she questioned.
"Never think that he could care about you like that. He doesn't see you. he sees her. Instead of black hair, he sees red. Instead of green eyes, he sees blue."
"Red hair?" Ashleigh said quietly, the image of the woman from minutes earlier forming in her mind. "Daveigh had red hair?"
"Who the hell else would I be talking about?" Templeton growled.
"Then it was her I saw. She's the one that spoke to me," Ashleigh whispered.
"What're you talkin' about? My sister is dead, girl, she has been for years," Templeton said, gripping her chin tighter.
Ashleigh winced as Templeton pinched her. "I wasn't talking about anything. I must have dreamt it."
Templeton stared down into Ashleigh's eyes. She pushed her back roughly, letting go of Ashleigh's chin.
Ashleigh stumbled back a few steps, staring up at the slightly taller woman. Her eyes flicked to the open cell door, and then back to Templeton. Ashleigh looked her up and down, sizing her, seeing if perhaps she could get past her somehow. With her eyes scanning the cell and the woman in front of her that she completely missed Templeton's knowing smirk.
Do it now, she urged herself. Taking a deep breath, Ashleigh lunged forward, pushing her way past Templeton. In one instant, Templeton's right hand shot out, grabbing Ashleigh by the back of her shirt and yanked her backward, slamming her into the brig's bars. Ashleigh gasped as her breath escaped from her.
"Nice try, girl," she growled, her hand grabbing Ashleigh's throat tightly, "but I would not try that again."
"You cannot keep me here," Ashleigh gritted out.
"I can do whatever the hell I please, girl. I am the captain of this ship," Templeton sneered. "Tell me, girl, where did you plan on goin' after getting' past me? Do you really think you could fight your way past my men? I doubt you could take them all on by yerself."
"You would never know unless I tried," Ashleigh whispered.
Templeton laughed again, her dark eyes flashing. "Yer not very smart, are you? I assure you, my dear, that you would never make it past my men, especially not Markson. You would be dead before you reached the main mast."
"Then kill me," she rasped, her lungs beginning to hurt from her lack of air.
"I won't kill you, girl, at least not yet. You wouldn't be a good hostage if you were dead," she paused, a cruel glint entering her eyes. "Although I believe it would pain him more if his lover were to die."
"I . . . told you. . ."
Templeton backhanded her suddenly, Ashleigh's head snapping to her right. "Stop lying to me! I saw the way he looked at you, the way he tried to protect you! Don't ever try and tell me that you are not his lover, that you are not his whore! He looked at Daveigh the same way!"
Ashleigh flinched at Templeton's words, her left hand finding its way to her bruising cheek. Is that what she was considered? Was that all she was thought of as? Jack's whore? Is that all he thought of her as?
"No," she whispered. "I am not his whore."
"Is that what you think, girl?" Templeton replied, her grip loosening on Ashleigh's throat.
Ashleigh fell to the ground slowly, her back sliding against the bars. She coughed slightly, her hand going to her throat. Templeton stared down at her hand and then at Ashleigh, a small grin crossing her face. She held up her hand, palm held down, revealing the thin trail of blood on her fingers.
Ashleigh touched the wound on her neck softly, and then pulled it away, staring down at the drops of blood. "I'm bleeding."
"Of course you are, you idiot," Templeton sneered. "You have a knife wound on your throat. I suppose that will make your Captain Sparrow even more upset, won't it?"
Ashleigh merely stared up at her, her silence giving Templeton all the answers she needed. With another cruel laugh, Templeton backed slowly out of the cell door, her crazed eyes staring down into hers. She locked the door quickly and then made her way up the stairs to the main deck; leaving Ashleigh huddled on the brig floor, her hands crossed tightly across her chest.
* * * * * *
Jack stood silently at the helm of the Black Pearl, his right hand clenched tightly on the wheel. His eyes were watching the open ocean ahead of him, but his mind was elsewhere.
He knew that Will and Elizabeth were sleeping peacefully in a cabin below decks, having been exhausted from their ordeal. Michael O'Shannon, on the other hand, was locked in his own cabin, grieving for the loss of his sister. His sister, a woman that he, Jack, had lost through his own stupidity. A woman that he had sated his lust with. A woman that perhaps, had made her way through his thick barriers that he had placed around himself, and penetrated his heart.
Jack knew this feeling he had. He had been intimate with grief and sorrow before. Many times, in fact. Now was no different. Now he felt the same loss, the same pain that he felt whenever someone close to him was killed.
He could hope, though, that Ashleigh was still alive; that she had survived the fall and was somewhere safe. Hell, he could even hope she was safe and with Templeton, however safe that could make her. Templeton he could track down. Templeton he could kill if she harmed Ashleigh. Templeton he would kill if she was still alive.
Jack swore to everything that was holy, and, hell, everything that wasn't, that he would find Ashleigh and then exact every form of vengeance he could think of on the woman that had harmed her.
* * * * * *
AN: Up next, Chapter 12: Possibilities.
Dawnie-7: Thank you very much! I'm glad you liked it!
NazgulGirl: Oh, that's too bad. Maybe one day I'll have one of my own.
DaydreamBeliever14: Well, I'm pretty sure that you found out if she was alive or not in this chapter, so I hope you were pleased with it.
PineAppleLint: Oh, her falling off a cliff wasn't too obvious was it? I wasn't sure what else to do! I needed a way to get Ashleigh into Templeton's hands, and that was the only way I thought of!