A/N: As promised, a new chapter before I disappear for a fortnight. Thank you for all the wonderful feedback!

Chapter Three: Tears and Blood

Sylvia woke stiff and cold. She had cried herself to sleep, curled up in a corner of the organ room. The candles had gone out, leaving the moonlight as the only illumination. The organ looked daunting rather than impressive in such a light. Sylvia felt like it was watching her. Ridiculous, she told herself sternly, but the feeling remained. The floor was rocking beneath her in a way that made her suspect they were on the move. Sylvia wondered where they were going, did the Flying Dutchman make port somewhere or did it just ride the waves endlessly like a ghost trapped between two worlds? She vaguely remembered something Jack had mentioned about Davy Jones only being able to step on land every ten years…or was it five? She couldn't remember, she didn't want to hear Jack's voice in her head any more anyway. She had cried enough for one night. Stiffly, Sylvia got to her feet. Her dress was creased, dirty and torn and she longed to change it but she very much doubted whether she'd be getting the chance to. She paced the cabin several times to work the aches out of her joints, then, when both her muscles and her courage had warmed, she approached the organ once again. She did not have any desire to touch the keys, they would make far too much noise and wake the whole crew likely as not. No, what she was interested in this time was the object Davy Jones had looked at when he had snuck up on her examining the organ. His eyes had swept over the keys and settled on a silver something. Something that Sylvia could see, now she was closer, was heart shaped. It looked to be an ornament of some kind, slightly tarnished but still very pretty. Such a strange thing to find in the cabin of the much feared Davy Jones. Once more, Jack's voice spoke inside her. You know, they say Davy Jones became the way he is because he fell in love. Had this silver heart once belonged to the woman Davy Jones had lost his heart too? A thump on the other side of the door made Sylvia gasp. Rather foolishly, she looked around for a place to hide, seeing none she settled for crouching down to make herself as small as she could and hoping that whoever it was would not see her and go away.

The door opened, hinges creaking slightly and a shadow slipped inside. Sylvia knew at once that it was not Davy Jones himself. Firstly, there could be no disguising the clunk, clunk of his walk and secondly, he had no need to sneak about on his own ship. So whoever had just entered the room did not want anyone to know he had done so. Sylvia could not help thinking that she might be better off with Jones. The shadow moved, creeping along the side of the room, keeping to the areas which were not flooded by moonlight. Sylvia held her breath, desperate to remain hidden. Then the shadow, forced by her reluctance to show herself, moved into the light. Sylvia recognised the sad, sad eyes and most of her fear fell away at once as they fell on her.

"There you are," he whispered, "I brought food." He pushed a tray of something towards her.

"Oh, thank you," said Sylvia. She wasn't the least bit hungry and she was frankly dreading looking at what he had presented her with, but she was touched all the same. "You didn't have to do that. Will you get in trouble?"

"Not if no one finds out," said Sad Eyes and there was a very, very brief moment when Sylvia thought he might once have smiled. She thought he was going to disappear again but instead he stood there looking awkwardly at her, until Sylvia was fairly sure that he wanted to ask her something.

"Is something wrong?" she asked. Sad Eyes twisted his hands around each other, searching for the right words, or the courage to say them, Sylvia could not tell.

"I…I heard from the crew that you…that you're Jack Sparrow's…"

"Yes," said Sylvia cutting him off.

"Is he, Jack, is he alright?"

"Yes," said Sylvia, "At least, I think so. Do you know him?"

"Used to," said Sad Eyes, "A long time ago." Suddenly he turned as if he had heard something. Sylvia strained her ears but could hear nothing at all.

"I better go," he said quickly, "I'm supposed to be on duty."

"Wait," said Sylvia, "What's your name?" Sad Eyes stared at her. She could almost have believed that he had never been asked before.

"Bill," he said, "Bill Turner. Everyone calls me Bootstrap."

♠♥♣

Will woke when his not-so-little boy jumped in the middle of the bed and demanded to be allowed to see Uncle Jack. Elizabeth ordered him off the bed and treated the poor lad to a lecture about how no one in this house was going to be spending any time with Uncle Jack for a good long while, possibly forever. By the time she was finished, Tom had tears running down his face. He ran from the room without a word, his little heart broken.

"Darling," said Will very, very gently, "Was that really necessary?" Elizabeth rounded on him fiercely.

"Are you telling me you'd like your impressionable young son to spend time with the man who abandoned the woman he is supposed to love to a fate worse than death?" she demanded. Will hastily backtracked.

"No, of course not, but poor Tom…"

"Tom has to learn that some people are bad," said Elizabeth looking away suddenly, "Even people you love." Will flung the bed covers aside and walked round to his wife, whose hand was now covering her mouth.

"Elizabeth, are you crying?" She shook her head but he could see the tears now. "Oh Liz." Will wrapped his arms around her and cradled her gently.

"Don't you see, Will? If he could do that to Sylvia…if he could do that to her, what's to stop him from abandoning any of us? Even little Tom if he saw profit in it."

"I don't think Jack would…"

"Don't stick up for him! I won't hear it! How can you defend him, Will? How could you have let him stay the night in this house?" Will had no idea what to say for the best so, wisely, he kept quiet. There would be more raised voices before long, he was sure of it, he had to cherish the peace while he could.

"Will?"

"Yes, Elizabeth?"

"You'd never abandon me, would you?" Will looked his beloved wife straight in the eyes.

"I would never abandon you," he said, "I promise."

♠♥♣

Elizabeth felt much calmer after her talk with Will, but she could not stop her stomach from churning every time she caught sight of the sea. Sylvia was somewhere out there, fighting for her life. How had she been able to understand Jack's decision to desert her when she, Elizabeth, could not? If Will ever…but he wouldn't, he had promised, and she knew her husband would never go back on his word. He was a good man. Unlike Jack. Jack didn't have a good bone in his body. She should never have let an honest, beautiful woman like Sylvia get caught up with him. Even as Elizabeth thought this she knew she would never have been able to convince Sylvia to let Jack go. If the roles had been reversed, if Sylvia had had to chose between giving up her own life or giving up Jack's, Elizabeth knew exactly which she would have chosen and there wouldn't have been a moment's hesitation.

"Jack, you look terrible!" Will cried from the next room. Jack gave Will a very dry look before collapsing on a chair.

"Didn't you get much sleep?" Will asked.

"I should bloody well hope not," said Elizabeth her eyes flashing, "If there's any justice in this world, he'll never sleep again."

"Elizabeth…" began Jack wearily.

"No, I don't want to hear it," said Elizabeth her hands ready to clamp over her ears, "You said you loved Sylvia…do you even know what that means? Have you ever really ever loved anything besides your stupid ship?" Jack was on his feet in an instant. Will leapt up too, positioning himself between the two combatants, but it was pretty clear that despite the initial wave of offence Jack was not up to any kind of fight.

"Tis not a stupid ship, lass," he said before sitting back down.

"Oh right," said Elizabeth sarcastically, "How could I have forgotten? It's the precious Pearl, much more important than the woman who loves you."

"I'm not goin' t' leave her there, luv," said Jack heavily, "It's temporary." Elizabeth gave a short laugh.

"How comforting for Sylvia."

"Elizabeth, this really isn't helping," said Will quietly. Elizabeth bristled. For a scary moment, Will was sure she was going to hit him. Instead, she stormed away, cursing in a most un-Elizabeth like manner. She would be back within minutes, Will was sure of it.

"It's going to be hard to convince her to let me come with you, Jack."

"Don't then," said Jack looking more tired by the second.

"I want to, Jack. You came here for help, I…"

"You wouldn't be letting me down," said Jack, "If the wife wants ye home…"

"She's got Tom and Laura to look after now, it's a lot of work for her. I can't just leave her without her permission." Jack suddenly sat up straighter and looked around.

"Where are the kids? I haven't seen them around." Will's silence spoke volumes.

"Oh." Jack slumped back on his chair. "Lizzie still keepin' them out of harm's way. Fair enough."

"Do you have any idea what you're going to do, Jack? If I could give Elizabeth a plan of action, she might…"

"She might what," said a razor sharp voice from the doorway, "Let you go gallivanting off with pirates?"

"Dada?" Laura was balanced on Elizabeth's hip, her face frightened. She was too young to understand the words but the tone of her mother's voice was enough to warn anyone that something bad was happening.

"How could you even…? How could you do this to me, Will?"

"Elizabeth…" But she was already walking away, speaking comforting words to her little daughter whose bottom lip was beginning to tremble. Will was on his feet, torn between his family and his friends. Sylvia and Jack needed his help, how could he sleep at night knowing they were in danger? But Elizabeth…he had promised not to abandon her, she had made him promise. He did not want to leave her or the children for a night, let alone an extended sea voyage with an uncertain conclusion. It would be dangerous, that much was certain, could he really justify putting them through all of that?

Half an hour later, and Jack was leaving. He touched his hat to Will before setting off back to the Pearl. Will ran upstairs to where Elizabeth was building a tower of wooden bricks for Laura. Tom was in the corner playing with his wooden pirate ship dejectedly. Elizabeth looked up at her husband as he walked in. She could read him like a book.

"Will Turner, if you leave this house with that pirate I will never forgive you."

♠♥♣

Daylight was returning. It did not make as much of a difference to the Dutchman as it did to the Pearl but Sylvia still preferred it. The darkness was one extra terror as far as she was concerned and on this ship, one less terror was a blessing. She stayed in the cabin, afraid to go outside, but at the same time growing restless. She wanted to know what was going on, she wanted to know where Davy Jones had got to, she wanted to know a million different things and no one was telling her anything. She wasn't used to it. Bored, Sylvia went back to the only thing in the room worthy of her attention. Even the great organ had lost its appeal since she could not play it for fear of the racquet it would cause. Examining the silver heart was a silent business. She had finally worked up the courage to pick it up. The first time she did so, she held it in her hand, listening to the thudding of her heart, certain that Jones was going to burst in and be furious at her for touching what was, she suspected, something very precious, but no one burst in and her heart as well as her nerves began to settle. The silver heart was surprisingly heavy, a reassuring weight. The metal warmed quickly in her hands and Sylvia found herself imagining herself in the position of the original owner. Had she given it to Davy Jones as a token of love or a reminder of days gone by? Or had he taken it? Stolen a part of her to keep forever. The fancy began to fade, it was hard to imagine Davy Jones falling in love with anyone let alone anyone being crazy enough to fall in love with him. But, Sylvia reminded herself, he must once have been a normal person, like her, like Jack.

"Oh Jack…" she sighed unhappily as she went to put the heart back down where she had found it. She had just placed it down when the top of it flipped open displaying a series of cogs and wheels, all turning, and suddenly the room was filled with music. Soft, gentle music. She was mesmerised by it immediately, the tune was almost hypnotising. Realising with a start what she was doing, Sylvia snapped the music box shut quickly deadening the sound instantly. She held her breath but it seemed no one else had heard a thing.

♠♥♣

Elizabeth watched her husband leave the house from an upstairs window. The children were still playing, unaware that their mother was watching their father walk out of their lives. It would be hard on them, she knew. Will knew that too, and yet he had chosen to go. Men always had the right to chose. If they wanted to go, they went. If they wanted to stay, they stayed. What of women? A mother could not leave her children, a wife could not leave her husband. Society frowned on such women. Women had to fight for everything they got and Elizabeth intended to fight the hardest of all.

♠♥♣

"Jack!" Jack looked down to see Will hurrying towards the Pearl.

"Ah, so Lizzie let you come after all." Will cleared his throat clumsily. "Ah," said Jack in an understanding way, "Welcome aboard."

"So, what's the plan?" asked Will the moment his boots touched the deck. He was ready and raring to go, not much point in being anything else now that he had made the decision to accompany Jack. He knew Elizabeth would be angry, but more than that he knew she would be upset. She would understand when they returned with Sylvia safe and sound, Elizabeth was just as concerned for their friends' safety as he was. If it wasn't for the children, Will was sure that she would have jumped at the chance for another adventure. Forcing his guilt down to the pit of his stomach, Will walked over to where Jack was standing, compass in hand.

"Ah Will," he said, "Hold this." He slapped the compass onto Will's palm where it swung round to point back the way they had come. Jack looked knowingly at him.

"You could still go back," he said. They weren't far from land yet, if he had to Will knew he could swim for it.

"No," he said, "Not until Sylvia is safe. This compass is broken." Jack rolled his eyes.

"Contrary to popular opinion, I am not a complete idiot," he said testily, "What would be the use in carrying round a broken compass? It doesn' point North, tis true…"

"So what does it point to?" asked Will. Port Royal? Surely not.

"It points to what you want most in the world," said Jack dramatically, "Now...stop thinking about Elizabeth and focus on the task at hand."

"Which is?" asked Will. He had forgotten just how confusing a conversation with Jack could be.

"There's only one person I know who would know what we want to know," Jack said staring hard at the compass. "Concentrate, Mr Turner, this isn't a game. What you want most is information about Davy Jones that could save Sylvia so you can get back to yer bonnie lass." Will focused on what Jack had told him. They needed to find out more about Davy Jones. Where could they go to find such information? Where? Where? The compass needle swung in a complete circle and then settled in a north easterly direction.

"Perfect!" said Jack snatching the compass and snapping it shut, "Mr Gibbs, we have our heading."

"But Jack, who is it we're going to see?" Will thought this was a pertinent question but Jack chose to ignore him, focussing instead on giving Gibbs the required navigational information. As soon as he was finished with that, he disappeared and Will decided that he would just have to ask him later. The sun was climbing higher in the sky as the sails billowed above him. It was almost midday on the second day, Will hoped that they would have enough time for whatever Jack had in mind. On the third day, Davy Jones was coming for them. It was not a heartening thought. Will saw Marty struggling with something and decided to join him, knowing that the vertically challenged pirate would die before he asked for help. If he kept really busy, maybe he would not think of Elizabeth, Tom and Laura waiting for him at home. Maybe.

♠♥♣

Sylvia could hear a great deal of activity going on the deck but she dared not see what was going on. No one had come in to see her, not even Bill, though her hopes had risen every time she had heard footsteps. Not once had she heard the characteristic clunk, clunk of Davy Jones' approach, yet she could feel his presence in the air making the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. He was nearby, she knew it. Finally she could stand it no longer. She was sick of being constantly on the edge, if something was going to happen then let it happen. She stood up and walked to the door, wavering for just a second before pushing it open. No one saw her slip from the room and creep to where most of the crew were gathered.

"You know the penalty for disobeying orders," snarled Maccus, Sylvia had no difficulty recognising his shark face. He had his back to her and was obscuring the person he was talking to. The others around him were jeering. There was a brief struggle but the victim was soon overpowered.

"You heard the Captain," said Maccus his glee sickening to see, "There was no to be no contact with the girl. Bolson, five lashes ought to do it." Sylvia pressed her hand around her mouth to stop herself from gasping. The crowd did not need to part for her to know how was about to be punished. Only one person had come to see her. Only one person had shown her an ounce of kindness and that man was about to be hurt for it, for her! She could see the creature called Bolson preparing to exact Bill Turner's sentence. There was only a brief window for someone to step up and challenge the fairness of this judgement, and no one else was speaking up. Knowing she would not be able to live with herself if she didn't try, Sylvia ran forwards.

"Stop!" Heads of every size and shape turned to face her. She tried not to let the fear in but there was too much horror around her. She could see Bootstrap now, being held by two others. He had turned to look at her too, and in his eyes she saw terror.

"Please," she said, "This punishment isn't fair." Clunk. Clunk. Clunk. Sylvia felt her breath freeze in her lungs. Oh God… Davy Jones appeared and it was quite clear he knew exactly what was going on. He directed his first question at Sylvia.

"What are you doin' interfering with the crew's business?"

"I…I…" Sylvia hated herself for it but she could not stop stammering. She was a lot more afraid of Davy Jones on the deck surrounded by his crew than she had been alone with him. "I…I…"

"Out with it, I haven' got all day," said Jones maliciously. A few of the crew laughed, Maccus among them.

"I didn't want to see someone get punished on my account," Sylvia finally managed to say, "He didn't do anything wrong." She snuck a quick look over at Bootstrap and realised for the first time that by getting involved she might have put him in a worse position than before.

"Is that so?" said Jones. He looked over at Bootstrap with a thinly veiled expression of disgust.

"Mr Turner, did you or did you not disobey my order?" Bootstrap hung his head but the reply was clear.

"I did disobey it, sir."

"There," said Jones, "He admits it. Now, what say you let my crew do what they're condemned to do?" Sylvia almost shrieked as a cold, slimy tentacle wrapped itself around her wrist and pulled her backwards out of the way. Though it released her quickly, she could still feel its touch long, long afterwards. Sylvia went to return to the cabin but Jones was in her way, quite deliberately.

"Yer goin' t' watch this," he said. There would be no argument. Sylvia's heart sank through the floor as she forced herself to look. When the first blow struck, she could not contain her cry. She clamped her hand over her mouth to stifle the cries that followed but no one stifled Bootstrap's screams as skin and flesh peeled away with every swing. When five blows had been delivered, he collapsed, his back a bloodied mess. Sylvia ran past Jones. As soon as she reached the cabin with its towering organ, she threw herself upon the floor and sobbed. Once more, Davy Jones listened to the sounds of her misery. His mind full of blood and tears, he was as close to happy as a man without a heart could ever be.

A/N: My DMC count is now officially five. Craziness, I know! I simply can't get enough of it. Does anyone else really want a pet kraken or is that just me? Heehee.

Please let me know what you think of this chapter,you know I love tohear your opinions.I'll update as soon as I can when I get back. Until then!