You are allowed to throw things at me. I haven't updated in forever.

This isn't the end of the story, as the title may suggest. It's almost over, though.

For several days, Ava refused to leave her cabin. Hawethorne scared her like the lack of rum scared Jack. Jack. Will. She hadn't thought about them in a long time. She was too preoccupied with the sudden change in events.

Ava sat on her bed, her legs curled up to her chest. She was biting her lip and staring at a piece of lint on her bed absent mindedly. What was she going to do? Hawethorne wanted to kill her. What could she do? Ava wanted to escape, but how? It'd be a stupid move. They were out in the middle of the ocean. There was no where Ava could go.

Despite her constant thoughts on the Tresoro de Almas and her fate, her worries were temporarily put aside when Andrew came by to comfort her and to look after her.

Andrew wasn't really supposed to be coming down to check after Ava but she was his friend, he had to. If he was found out by Hawethorne, he'd be in serious trouble. In Hawethorne's eyes, Ava was the enemy and the bait.

Ava sighed and replayed their future arrival at the island. Suddenly, the door opened slowly. Ava looked up. She pressed her back against the wall and was ready to jump up and fight if it happened to be Hawethorne at the door. Fortunately, it was Andrew on one of his many frequent visits.

Ava let out a sigh of relief. Andrew smiled at her and sighed as well.

"Andrew, you're not supposed to be here. What if –."

Andrew walked over to Ava and sat on her bed. He calmed her down.

"Ava, don't worry about Hawethorne. No one knows I'm here."

Ava nodded and looked away from Andrew. She didn't know what to do at that moment. She was scared and pretty much alone. She had no one here except Andrew. Speaking of Andrew, he didn't know what to do at that moment, either. He had never been in this sort of situation. He didn't know what was going to happen. He promised Ava that nothing would ever happen to her but how sure can he be about that? Now that he had been brought into this situation, he wasn't sure what can happen. Andrew would fight till the end to keep Ava safe but myths like the Tresoro de Almas aren't known for being predictable.

Andrew looked at Ava and felt bad for her. He knew that she didn't have many people in the world who care for her. He was happy to know that she had at least one person who cared for her: himself. As he looked at her, he felt her pain and sadness. Any human, weak or strong, would be scared if they were in her position.

"Ava, what's your plan of attack?"

Ava looked at him and let out a small chuckle. She shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't have one. What can I do?"

Andrew shrugged. "Fight back?"

Ava scoffed. "What makes you think that I can fight against a captain with his own army?"

"I'm just saying. Don't let yourself be pushed around. You're not a weakling."

Ava thought about his comment and sighed. She could fight back. She wanted to. Desperately. But how could she? She didn't have her own army like Hawethorne had.

Andrew studied Ava's expression. He knew she was thinking about what he said. He knew that she thought he was right.

After a few moments of contemplating what she should do, Ava sighed and hung her head.

Andrew began to speak but he heard a soft knock on the door. One of his fellow soldiers poked his head through the door which was ajar.

"Andrew, Hawethorne's calling in the soldiers. You had better hurry up unless you want to lose your head."

Andrew looked back at Ava who was idly playing with a piece of string on her dress. He reluctantly got up and left. Ava didn't even look up or say goodbye.

XXXXX

On deck

"Soldiers, line up!"

Hawethorne paced about on deck as his soldiers got into a perfectly straight line. His expression revealed nothing but deep down inside. Deep deep deep down inside, Hawethorne was ecstatic, anxious, and relieved. They (he, really) had made it. They made it to the Tresoro de Almas. He could finally leave behind those worthless, in his opinion, soldiers and take what's his.

"Men! We have arrived upon our destination at precisely the right time. Much thanks to our cartographer."

Several soldiers cheered, happy that they would finally reach land. Hawethorne held up a hand to silence them.

"Tonight, we celebrate our fellow soldiers who are so….so….oh, I don't even know what words to use to describe you. There's a certain spot on this land which I happen to know very well and will make an excellent location for our little…celebration. All men will attend except the girl. I shall like to speak privately with her."

At that last sentence, Hawethorne glanced at Andrew who was glaring at him with suspicion. He couldn't let Hawethorne come near Ava.

The rest of the soldiers, who were completely oblivious to the threatening tone of Hawethorne's voice, broke out in smiles. They would finally reach solid land after many long days out in the sea.

XXXX

Ava heard Hawethorne's speech. She had pressed her ear against the ceiling and faintly heard his words which dripped with lies.

She gulped when he said he wanted to "speak" to her. In reality, it was her death sentence. She would be sacrificed and who knows what would happen next.

Ava sat back down on her bed and just sat there in disbelief. This was the end for her. In just a few hours, she will be dead, the treasure will be Hawethorne's and basically all Hell will break loose. If Hawethorne had that much power, he could do anything. And what about Andrew? And Jack? And Will? What would happen to them? Would they be ok? She hoped so.

Ava hoped Andrew would come back down to her and comfort her. She always felt safe and content when he was around to remind her that everything was going to be fine, even though sometimes it didn't seem like it would. Unfortunately, he never came.

She sat on her bed until it got dark. The ship had reached its destination. Ava was about to meet her fate.

Surprisingly, Ava didn't feel nervous. She knew she should be but she just didn't feel it. She didn't know what she felt. Whatever it was, it was not what a normal human being would feel if they were in her situation.

Suddenly, there was a loud knock on her door. She allowed her visitor to come in, half expecting it to be Andrew. But, no. It was Hawethorne. Ava immediately tensed up. She pressed her self against the wall, wishing she would just disappear.

"Good evening, Miss Benford. Pleasant night we're having, don't you think?"

Ava didn't reply.

"I'm sure you are aware that we have, in fact, stopped sailing. We have reached the Tresoro de Almas."

Ava quivered in fear.

"Just let me go," she said with a shaky voice.

Hawethorne just grinned. "If I do, then who will be my sacrifice? If I let you go, I won't get my treasure."

"Get one of your soldiers to do it for you."

Ava was starting to build up bravery. She stood her ground, for now.

However, her remark didn't have the effect she wanted it to have on him. He just grinned even more.

"You mean your soldier friend, Andrew?"

Ava's jaw dropped. He wouldn't use Andrew! Would he? Ava was unsure of everything at the moment.

Ava shook her head 'no'. Hawethorne was about to break into a laugh and nodded yes.

"Believe it, Miss Benford. Either you come with me, or your 'lover' endures a wretched and painful death."

Ava made her decision. This time, she was sure of it. She wouldn't go back now. Not after he threatened the only person who was truly there for her.

"Fine. I'll go."

Hawethorne smiled, "There's a good girl. We leave in several hours."

Hawethorne turned and was about to exit when he turned around again and said, matter-of-factly, "Oh, and if you tell anyone about this, be it known to you that your precious Andrew will be the first to suffer. It'll be our little secret."

XXXXX

Several hours after listening to Hawethorne give her an ultimatum, it was time for all aboard the ship to set off towards the Tresoro de Almas.

Ava stepped outside of her cabin and felt the cool Caribbean breeze on her face. This would be the last time she experienced this wind of tranquility.

She went towards the side of the ship and leaned against the railing and sighed. This was it. How could she tell Andrew that this was the last time that they would ever see each other?

Fortunately, Hawethorne was busy talking with some soldiers, so Ava had a few moments to herself. The rest of the crew were mingling with each other, not noticing Ava.

Andrew came over to her. He had been watching her intently. His heart nearly broke when he realized that this was the end. Or was it? He knew he had to do something, but he didn't know what. For now, he decided to comfort her.

Andrew reached out and touched Ava's shoulder. She jumped, startled at his touch. She turned around and felt relieved. She thought it was Hawethorne.

"Hey…" he said.

Ava turned around, ignoring him. She didn't want to hear him say that everything was going to be ok. Clearly, it wasn't.

"Ava, can we talk? In private?"

Ava slowly turned around and followed Andrew to the back of the ship, where there was nobody there. Again, Ava leaned against the railing, staring into the sea trailing after the ship.

"Are you scared?" asked Andrew.

Ava glanced up at him and shook her head.

"No. Just sad that I won't see you anymore."

Another crack formed in Andrew's heart. He smiled sadly.

Ava turned back to look at the ocean but suddenly turned back to Andrew.

"No, I mean, yes. I am afraid. I don't want to die. Not now, anyways. There's a time when everyone dies but I know that it's not my time. I'm not ready to leave just yet. I have several things I want to do."

Andrew cocked his head in curiosity. "Like what?"

Ava crossed her arms and glared off to her side. "Well, first off, I want to gut that old fool for saying that y—. For using me to get his stupid, bloody treasure."

Ava decided to leave the fact that Hawethorne would kill Andrew out. She couldn't even say those words. She would've broken down.

Andrew, however, chuckled. He loved that she can bring some laughter, no matter how small, into a dark situation.

"Secondly, I want to say that I lo—."

Ava stopped. What she was about to say would be either a big mistake or the greatest thing she had ever done. She bit her lip, not sure whether she should say it or not.

Ava started to try again when Andrew took her hands and stopped her.

"Ava, I'm running out of time to tell you this. I wish I didn't have to tell you this this way, but I don't know what's going to happen."

Ava was stunned. This was the first time she ever sensed fear in his voice. She had always imagined him as a young man with no fears. What exactly was making him afraid?

Andrew took several deep breaths, trying to gain composure. He looked at Ava; into her eyes.

"Ever since we were little, I've always considered you my best friend. Nothing could've changed that. And now, I find you after all these years and I learn so much more about you that I feel that I've gone from liking you as a friend to something more."

Ava blinked. Could he be trying to say what she wanted to say?

"Ava, I lo—."

"Professing your love to one another, are we?" a voice said behind them.

The two turned around and saw Hawethorne standing with some soldiers behind him.

"Gents, separate these two. We leave now to the Tresoro de Almas."

As several soldiers split the pair apart, Hawethorne walked up to Ava and pulled out a pistol and cocked it. He pointed it to her head.

"Oh, Miss Benford, this is going to be grand. The world will be rid of a distracting, stupid girl and I will have what's rightfully mine."

Ava squirmed, starting to feel scared. Andrew tried to break free, but he was held onto tightly.

Hawethorne leaned in to Ava's ear, still holding the gun to her head.

"Don't think dear Andrew is going to save you this time."

He pulled back and commanded his soldiers to take them to the location of the treasure.

And so Ava and Andrew were separated. The rest of the soldiers not involved in Hawethorne's plot were sent to set up camp in a deserted, far off location. Hawethorne hoped that they could be killed by whatever creature lived there. He hoped to be rid of the soldiers that helped him as soon as he got his treasure and was back home. He had no need for them anymore.

Andrew's fate would be much worse. He would have to sit and watch Ava being sacrificed. To Hawethorne, it would be the icing on top of a very delicious cake. For Andrew, it would be worse than death itself.

Ok, I'm realllyyyyyy sorry for not updating in a gajillion years. I've had no time at all.

Hopefully you'll like this chapter. :

Happy Holidays, by the way!!