The Price of ƒ я e e d o м
A PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN FANFICTION

The Price of ƒ я e e d o м © xoxoMyRealityIsFiction
Pirates of the Caribbean © Disney
Ayisha/Amenirdis © A.C. Crispin

Scene Seven:
A Woman Scorned

Ayisha watched the busy streets of Tortuga with sharp eyes, body rigid in alert, ready to fend for herself or Will, and Jack if needed be. That was a downside of Tortuga; pirates will attack pirates just for the sport of it. Ayisha's hand hovered dangerously close to the handle of the dagger hidden within her sash, her eyes darting side to side, at every pirate and whore who stumbled past her. Turning her head to the side, glancing in Will's direction, he, too, seemed to be on high alert but also continued to milk in Tortuga with curious eyes. Switching her attention from Will, to Jack, she nearly rolled her eyes when she saw that Jack was as carefree as usual, forcing his own path through the throng of pirates.

Does nothing scare that man anymore? Well, besides his own demise?

"What are we looking for?" asked Will, having to shout over the loud commotion of Tortuga.

"It is not what we are looking for, lad. But rather who we are looking for," responded Jack, glancing back at Will from over his shoulder, and then said nothing more.

Will cast a confused glance towards Ayisha, and she shrugged in response. She has always just followed Jack's orders without question. Jack was a very complex man; hard to predict some would say, and Ayisha had long ago given up in trying to figure out Jack Sparrow. He was a man of many surprises, no matter how long she had known him. She may have known about his past, and probably is one of the few who does, but ever since their run-in with Cutler Beckett those many years ago, and Jack was forever branded as a pirate, Jack has been rather erratic. Okay, more erratic. Borderline insane people would call him; but one must be insane in order to survive the harsh seas, Jack would say; in order to see the world for what it really is: a brutal reality.

"OK then…who are we looking for?" Will rephrased.

Jack didn't answer and instead, kept on walking and then stopped in front of a wooden door riddled with holes. Pushing it open with the tip of his fingers Jack took one large, single step inside of the shack, and then stood inside, back erect. Ayisha's fingers were now firmly wrapped around the hilt of the dagger, wondering if Jack sensed something that she did not. Will went rigid by her side, Ayisha feeling his arm lightly brushing against hers as he stiffened.

Ayisha let her body lax, drinking in the aura of the room, but felt nothing that was potentially dangerous. So why was Jack acting so cautious? Suddenly Jack relaxed, swiftly spinning around so that he was facing Will and Ayisha and then thrust his hands out in Will's direction, causing Will to jump back. Jack smirked, "Scared ye, didn't I?"

Jack then walked all the way into the shack, his figure disappearing within the shadows. Ayisha faced Will, seeing his face ashen, and giggled. Will looked at Ayisha with wide eyes, "I'm beginning to wonder if I picked the right pirate to assist me," he uttered.

"Believe me, Mr. Turner, no one knows the Black Pearl better than Jack. You picked the right pirate." Ayisha passed Will a small smile and then followed in Jack's direction.

Finding Jack, Ayisha came up to his side, staring down at a portly man sleeping and using some pigs as pillows. The man was literally sleeping in a pig's sty. Scrunching up her nose at the smell of manure Ayisha placed the back of her hand over her nose to try and cover up some of the smell. She couldn't understand why Mr. Gibbs was sleeping with pigs, rather than renting out a room. She was sure that he could scrounge up some money. There was bound to be some sort of work in Tortuga.

"Right where we left him," Jack mumbled, head cocking to the side, inspecting the sleeping form of Gibbs.

"How are we going to wake him this time?" asked Ayisha, wondering what plan Jack was cooking up in his mind for poor Mr. Gibbs. He always tried a new way of waking the poor man from his sleep. Then again, it seemed that every time Jack and Ayisha sought out Mr. Gibbs, they always found him sleeping.

"This is the man that we are looking for?" Will came up from behind both Jack and Ayisha.

"Yup," Jack quipped and then walked off. "Come here, lad, and help me with this."

Ayisha stayed the spot in which she was standing, only turning her head around to watch both Jack and Will. Will obeyed Jack's order and went over to him, Jack standing next to a water pump. Jack then placed a bucket underneath said water pump and motioned for Will to do the pumping. Ayisha smiled. Jack always said, 'why do a deed, when you can get someone else to do it for you?' And it seems that Jack has found his new toy: Will Turner.

Ayisha's smile widened once she saw Will do as Jack told, and began pumping the lever of the water pump without question. And he called her Jack's slave. Jack could get just about anyone to do what he wanted; he just had a way with words. Turning back to Mr. Gibbs, Ayisha frowned a bit, wondering if she should wake him from his slumber by shaking him, instead of letting Jack dump water all over him. But it was too late; Jack came up from beside her, bucket in hand, and tossed its entire contents onto poor Mr. Gibbs.

"CURSE YOU FOR BREATHING, YOU SLACK-JAWED IDIOT!" Mr. Gibbs sprang up, knife in hand, ready to slice whoever woke him, but then once he laid eyes on Jack, he calmed but seemed shocked to see them standing before him. "Mother's love! Jack! You should know better than to wake a man when he's sleeping. It's bad luck."

"Ah, fortunately I know how to counter it. The man who did the waking buys, the man who was sleeping, a drink. The man who was sleeping drinks it while listening to a proposition from the man who did the waking," said Jack, smoothly, without fault.

Everyone remained silent after Jack's confusing statement, Mr. Gibbs's face twisting in confusion. Ayisha felt a migraine forming in the center of her forehead, and rubbed her forehead in exasperation.

Mr. Gibb's nodded, confusion still clear on his face, "Aye, that'll about do it," he said, but Ayisha knew that he, too, like Will, didn't know what in the heck Jack was saying. As he was beginning to rise to his feet Will threw another bucket of water on him. "Blast! I'm already awake!" Gibbs bellowed, sputtering water out from his mouth, glaring at Will.

"…that was for the smell," said Will, and Ayisha silently agreed with him. She didn't want the smell of a pig pen to follow her wherever Mr. Gibbs went with them.

Mr. Gibbs began to rise to his feet again but slipped on the mud that formed beneath him from all the water Jack and Will dumped on him. Mud splattered on the bottom of Ayisha's white trousers causing her to sigh. Why must she always get dirty in every single situation? Couldn't she ever stay clean for once? This was her only clean outfit since she refused to wear anything that wasn't from Kerma. The other outfit was tucked secretly in a sac Ayisha created, hanging off her back like the quiver. But, was it so foolish to cling to the only thing she had left that she brought from home? Because she doesn't think so.

Stepping into the mud, since she was already dirty anyway, Ayisha's slippers squished and squashed as she trudged forward, towards Mr. Gibbs to help him up. The faster he got up, the faster he could help Jack find a crew, and the faster it would be to get off of Tortuga; and Ayisha really wanted to get off of Tortuga.

"Bless thee, Ayisha." Mr. Gibbs smiled as he dusted off his front, trying to wipe off as much mud as possible, and Ayisha smiled in response.

"Yes, yes, yes, come, come, I don't have all day," Jack interrupted, dusting Ayisha off and then fixed her hood, which had fallen off, before ushering everyone out of the shabby shack which Gibb's was sleeping in.

"He still keeps ye on a tight leash, eh?" Mr. Gibbs mumbled into Ayisha's ear, him walking beside her, Will on her other side and Jack leading them to wherever he wanted to go. "Afraid ye is going to leave him still?"

"He's always done this?" Will mumbled from Ayisha's other side, starting up a conversation that Ayisha did not want to have.

"Aye. Jack has always been very protective of Miss Ayisha for as long as I can remember," answered Mr. Gibbs.

Someone cleared their throat, and all eyes turned to Jack, who was standing in front of a tavern with his hands placed firmly on his hips. Will and Mr. Gibbs shut their mouths; and Ayisha silently huffed, moving past Jack and going into the Tavern, but staying by the entrance once she saw how many pirates were occupying inside. Mr. Gibbs was not the only person who voiced their thoughts that Jack was too constrictive over Ayisha, not letting her do much unless he was there with her. There were many others who thought the same thing that she and Jack had met throughout the years. Why did they think it was so bad that Jack watched over her? She rather liked it. She couldn't survive out in the real world without Jack.

Jack swaggered past Ayisha, motioning for the three to follow him. "Keep a sharp eye," Jack told Will, and then faced Ayisha. "Watch over him."

Ayisha nodded and stood next to Will as Will leaned against a pillar, and Jack and Mr. Gibbs settled themselves at a table that was nearby. Facing her back towards Jack and Gibbs, staring out at the crowd and watching the drunken pirates and whores drinking and causing up a ruckus, Ayisha subconsciously tugged her hood, trying to cover more of her face.

"I'm sorry."

Ayisha looked up at Will, her eyebrow rising in confusion.

"I meddled into your past without your consent and I am sorry for that," said Will in an apologetic tone. "It's just…I do not understand-"

"Nor should you," Ayisha interrupted. "I do not even understand it myself," she murmured lowly. "I've long ago stopped trying and learned to live with it." Ayisha smiled up at Will, and so did he in return.

"She is not!" a familiar voice suddenly exclaimed.

Ayisha switched her attention from Will, to Jack, at his outburst. What on earth were he and Mr. Gibbs speaking about? Jack usually always kept his composure. Well, in his own weird way he did. Her attention was then forced back to Will when his body lightly collided with hers. A plump woman had practically pressed her rather large bosoms onto Will's chest, smiling a yellow stained smile up at him. Ayisha giggled when Will tried to politely ignore the woman, but the woman was stubborn, continuing to 'bump' into Will accidentally. Then another man came forth, taking the woman away, but not before giving Will the 'evil' eye. Or, at least he attempted to give Will the evil eye in his drunken state.

"Tortuga," Ayisha stated with a small smile, passing Will a sly glance.

Jack, again, came up from behind Ayisha and Will, wedging himself between the two, wrapping an arm around Ayisha's shoulders. "Now, darlin', I believe I owe you a present." Jack began leading Ayisha towards the exit of the tavern but then stopped, looking back at Will who was following them. Jack slid his arm off of Ayisha's shoulder and faced Will. "You, stay here." He spoke to Will as if he were speaking to a dog, motioning for him to stay in the tavern. "Don't worry, boy, Gibbs will take good care of ye. Gibbs!" Jack called over to Mr. Gibbs. "Make sure nothing happens to him."

Will looked skeptical, and so did Ayisha for that matter, but nonetheless let Jack lead her out of the tavern. "…we are not going to leave him here, are we?" asked Ayisha, looking around at the few shops Tortuga had.

"Now, have I ever left a man from my crew behind before?" Jack rewrapped his arm around Ayisha's shoulders, his free hand stealing a tankard from a passed out pirate. Ayisha nodded in agreement, her lips forming a thin line. Jack has never left a man of his crew before. But, did he consider Will apart of his crew? "So," Jack cleared his throat, sliding his arm off of Ayisha's shoulders and tinkering with various items on a wooden stand. "What are your thoughts on young William?"

Ayisha scrunched her nose up in confusion, looking away from a piece of jewelry she was inspecting.

"He's young and handsome – not that I'm a eunuch – …and young," Jack muttered.

Ayisha stared at him with an amused look on her face, a wide smile spreading across her face. Was he jealous of Will? Deciding not to respond to Jack's question Ayisha continued to inspect some of the items that shop owners kept out in front of their stores.

"Why, 'ello there, love."

Ayisha's ears perked, her head lifting up at the sound of a woman's voice. Turning her head to the side, in Jack's direction, Ayisha frowned when she saw that a woman came up to him. Her breasts were practically popping out of her tattered dress, and she was pretty but the tons of makeup she smeared all over her face, ruined it. But what made Ayisha's heart drop was that Jack was actually paying attention to the woman, his eyes roaming the woman's skinny figure. He was supposed to be here with her, buying her a gift - not picking up whores.

Ayisha set down a bracelet that she had picked up (which reminded her of her own wristlet that she left at home, symbolizing that she was of royalty) and backed away from Jack and the woman, her eyes burning with unshed tears. This wasn't the first time that she saw Jack with another woman, but that didn't mean that she didn't like to see it. Tearing her eyes away from the sight Ayisha began to head back to the tavern in which they left Will and Mr. Gibbs, but then skidded to a stop when two men rolled past her, in mid-fight.

Tortuga, she whispered in her mind, wanting to get away from the utter chaos. Wanting to get away from everything. Going back to the Interceptor Ayisha closed the door of the captain's quarters behind her, covering her mouth with her hand as she began to openly sob. Tearing off her cloak, bow and quiver, and throwing them to the ground Ayisha staggered to the window and fell to her knees. Taking in a deep breath to try and clear her thoughts, she settled into a more comfortable position and began to meditate; letting her mind go blank; but after a few moments she was too distraught to let her body lax.

A tear finally slipped, rolling down the side of Ayisha's cheek, but she quickly wiped it away. She was stronger than this. She was taught to let nothing fear, or scare, her. But, then again, when she was being taught back at home, she didn't know what love was. She didn't know who Jack was. He ruined her life for other men...

After years, and years, of being with Jack - trying to make him realize that she is all the woman he needs, was going to waste; and Ayisha just realized it.

Does Jack Sparrow love her? Does he even like her?

No, of course he does, Ayisha shook her head, her fingers curling into fists on her lap as she sat on her legs. He wouldn't let me tag along with him if he did not...right? Or, as Ayisha thought in the back of her mind, refusing to openly admit it, was Jack just like other pirates, and only let her be around him because she was the lost princess of Zerzura? She was the only one who could help open the gateway that lead into the labyrinth in which her people's entire wealth and fortune lied. But, she no longer has the wristlet that would allow her to open the gateway. She left it at home, with her mother.

Ayisha needed some reassuring that she was following the right path. Or was she really a fool?

She closed her eyes...

(A/N) Authors' Note: ...and left you on a cliffhanger :3
lol, aren't I such a stinker?

Reviews are love :D