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Chapter 9: Davy Jones

The next dawn, Will and Guinevere languished against the ship's mast. Guinevere was weak, incoherent, and the ropes around her seemed to be the only thing that kept her on her feet. Will was exhausted, but he was too angry to give in. Why would Jack turn him over to Davy Jones? When Jack strutted up to him, Will furiously through himself against the ropes.

"Good day to you, too, mate," Jack said casually.

"Jack, I have no time to die. We must make way to Port Royal with all haste."

Jack looked Will square in the eyes. "Who said anything about dying? How much do you know about Davy Jones?" Jack asked him.

"Very little," Will replied earnestly, "but that doesn't't matter. Lord Beckett had us arrested. I need that compass of yours, Jack. If I trade it to Beckett he will pardon Elizabeth, Guin, and me."

Jack pulled out the drawing of the key. "William, I will trade you my compass if you will help me find this," he said.

Will studied the drawing. "You want me to find this?" he asked.

"No. You want you to find this," Jack countered, "because the finding of this puts you incapacitorially able to save dear ol' what's her face."

"This is going to save Elizabeth?" Will asked doubtfully.

"Yeah. S' gonna save Elizabeth. Savvy?" Jack said nonchalantly.

"After knowing what you have done, I'm not so sure that I can trust you, Jack," Will told Jack sadly.

"I swear on pain of death," he said sincerely, "Do we have an accord?"

Will shook his head.

"So, how is Elizabeth anyway? Jack asked randomly.

"She's safer than we are," Will replied, "But she's alone. I should be with her, ready to marry her. We should be with Juliet at her baptism. I should be helping Guin-"

Will trailed off as he remembered the painful truth about Guinevere. "Oh my God," he gasped, "Guin!"

"What now?" Jack groaned.

"Guin is dying, Jack."

"Dying of what?"

"Consumption. She's had it for two years."

"What's your worry?"

"Dang you, Jack! Don't you understand? Lucia doesn't't need to kill Guin herself. The consumption is going to kill Guin before she has a chance."

"Oh."

Something in Jack's voice hinted something to Will. Clearly, there was no surprise in his voice.

Will's blood boiled as he made a realization. "You!" he growled, "You knew all along that this was happening, didn't you?"

"Yeah," Jack replied coolly.

"Then you knew all along that Guin was in danger. Why didn't you protect her?" Will asked angrily.

"Once again, William, your faith is misplaced. I did try to save Guinevere's life. Besides, I just saved all of you. If I hadn't said anything, you'd be dead now. You should really blame Lucia for all this," Jack corrected him.

"You are forgiven, but I can't trust you yet," Will declared.

"Fair enough," Jack said nonchalantly.

Suddenly, Juliet started wailing. Will fought against his ropes, but one of Lucia's crewmen held him back.

"Please, let me help her," he begged, "She's my goddaughter. She needs me."

Will knew Jack didn't know anything about babies, and was desperate. "Jack, give her to me," Will commanded.

"Not to worry, William," Jack said calmly, "I've got it under control."

Jack calmly examined Juliet. Realizing nothing else was wrong, Jack simply held Juliet on his shoulder and patted her back.

"Shh, shh…hush, hush," he whispered, "Go to sleep, darling."

Within a few moments, Juliet was lulled to sleep. Will was flabbergasted. Jack had actually taken care of a baby! He was actually assuming the role of a proper parent!

"Well," Will said, recovering from his shock, "Well done, Jack. I underestimated your capabilities with babies."

"Indeed," Jack said as held Juliet, "Now where was I? Oh, yes, I remember. Do we have an accord?"

Will sighed. "Aye," he agreed.

"Captain Barbossa," Jack called.

Lucia stepped on deck. "Sparrow, what do you want?" she barked.

"Before we meet Davy Jones, I have a need to travel upriver."

"Very well," Lucia declared, "We sail north!"

With Jack in the helm of the Pearl, the ship reached the shack of Tia Dalma. Taking a boat, Jack bound Will and he took him into a boat and rowed out to the shack. Following him in other boats were Gibbs, Pintel, Ragetti, Cotton, and Lucia. Tia's shack was completely surrounded by water with a ladder as the entrance. The shack was old and spooky looking, but it was more than it seemed. Jack knew that Tia would be able to give him the answers to his questions. If she couldn't't, no one could. When Jack climbed up to the shack a strange, copper-skinned woman was in front of him. Her black hair was in heavy braids and she wore an unusual dress.

"Jack Sparrow," she said admiringly in a heavy accent as she turned to Jack, revealing red and brown eyes.

"Tia Dalma, my darling," Jack sighed.

"I always knew de wind would blow you back to me one day," Tia Dalma said with pleasure.

Suddenly, Tia Dalma pointed at Will. "You," she said, "You have a touch of destiny about you, William Turnah."

Will's brow wrinkled. "You know me?" he asked, perplexed.

Tia Dalma showed a smile of black teeth. "You wan' ta know me?"

Jack stepped in without hesitation. "No knowing here!" he replied hastily, "We have come for your help, and we will not leave without it. I thought I knew you."

"Not as well as I'd hoped," Tia Dalma acknowledged as she led Jack and Will over to her table and continued to flirt with Will, "So, what service can I do you? You know I demand payment."

"Brought payment," Jack said brightly as he held up a cage that contained Jack, Barbossa's mischievous monkey and shot it, "An undead monkey! Top that!"

"The payment is fair," Lucia agreed as she let Jack out.

Will took out the cloth. "We need this key and we need to know what it goes to and how to find it."

Tia Dalma studied the cloth. "You look to find de key to de chest of Davy Jones," she said knowingly, "Tis what's inside de chest is what you seek. Jack, the compass I gave you. It cannot lead you to dis?"

Jack said nothing, and Tia Dalma smiled.

"Jack Sparrow does not know what he wants," she laughed, "Or do you, and loathe to claim it as your own?"

"Maybe," Jack shrugged.

"Yes, but what is this chest, what's inside, and how do we find it?" Will asked in a slightly hasty manner.

"Davy Jones, a great saila, until 'e fell in love which that which vexes all men," Tia Dalma said.

"What vexes all men?" Will asked.

Tia Dalma took his hand. "What indeed?" she said.

"The sea?" asked Gibbs.

"Sums?" wondered Pintel.

"The dichotomy of good and evil?" asked Ragetti.

"A woman," answered Jack.

"Davy Jones was in love wit a woman as beautiful and untamable as de sea. He never stopped loving 'er," Tia Dalma explained.

"What exactly did he put in the chest?" Will wanted to know.

"De pain was not enough for him to die, so him cut out him heart and lock it away in a chest for all time. De key you seek he keep wit him at all times," Tia Dalma continued.

"Well, then, that seems simple," Jack declared with a smile, "All you have to do is board the Flying Dutchman, steal the key, and there you go back to Port Royal to marry Elizabeth. Savvy?"

"We have a need to find the Flying Dutchman before I steal anything," Will replied.

Tia Dalma sat down, sprinkled crab legs over a map, and chanted "A touch of destiny!" After a moment, Tia Dalma looked up at Jack and Will. "You must find it on de sea," Tia told them.

"Well, that's helpful," Will snorted.

"Well, thanks very much. Let's go," Jack said hastily.

"Wait. Led me see your hand," Tia Dalma commanded.

Jack reluctantly showed Tia Dalma his hand with the black spot. Pintel, Ragetti, and Gibbs panicked, and Lucia remained stoic.

"De Dutchman will not be far behind," Tia Dalma warned as she disappeared into a room.

After banging around in the room, Tia Dalma reappeared with a jar of dirt. "Davy Jones can't step on land bud once every ten years. Land is where you are safe, Jack," she said.

"Is the dirt going to help?" Jack asked dubiously.

"You don't wan' id, give id back," Tia said simply.

"No!" Jack protested.

"Then it will help," Tia Dalma told him.

Jack, excited with his new plan, headed out the door to the boat. However, Will stayed behind with Tia Dalma a little longer.

"Can I do anyting for you, William?" Tia Dalma asked, noticing Will lingering in her shack.

"I need your help, too," Will sighed, "My friend is dying of consumption. Is there anything I can do to help her?"

"No, dere is nothing you can do, but dere is something I can do," Tia Dalma said with a smile as she poured an unidentifiable liquid into a flask, "Give her dis potion. Id will keep her alive."

"Will it cure her?" Will asked.

"Yes, id will cure her. Use caution. If she dies, de potion is ineffective."

"Brilliant. I have a one in a million chance of saving my friend," Will groaned in frustration.

"Your friend's situation is not as hopeless as it seems," Tia Dalma said consolingly.

"Thank you, Tia Dalma," Will whispered with a small smile as he headed out to the boat.

As Will sat in the boat with Jack, his hope of finding and curing Guinevere rose as well as his hope of freeing Elizabeth. "Hold on, Guin. I'm coming, Elizabeth. Just hold on, love," Will prayed.

Will, Jack, and the others rowed back to the ship. There, Lucia had Will bound to the mast next to Guinevere, who was now conscious.

"Enjoy your freedom while you can, Turner," she warned, "It ends once we find the Dutchman."

Will simply spat in Lucia's face and Lucia grinned as she headed off. Guinevere gazed at Will and her heart sank. Seeing the man she loved as friend and lover in danger filled her with grief. She clearly saw the error of her ways.

"Will? Will, are did she hurt you?" she asked, concerned.

Will gazed at her and did not respond.

"Will you not speak to me?" Guinevere asked fruitlessly, "I know you won't. I betrayed you. I deserve whatever punishment comes from what I've done. You were right. It's all my fault. I should not have trusted Lucia. I know you do not trust me, but I will change that. Whatever price I must pay for you, it will be paid, I swear. I don't need your forgiveness, Will. Rather, I just want you. I want you to trust me again, to love me as you loved me before. Whatever must be done to earn that all back will be done. I swear."

As the sun was setting, the Pearl made way to find the Flying Dutchman. Lucia was keen on getting her revenge. Jack now knew that he was closer to getting the key to the chest. However, Guinevere was glum. She could not be happy until she fulfilled her debt to Will. She knew now that it was time to let go. Then she realized that, despite going through great lengths to win Will's heart, she never truly loved him. Instead, she realized what she had been denying for so long: it was Jack that she loved. In her heart and her mind, it made sense. Jack was Juliet's father, and Guinevere couldn't't deny Juliet a family. Guinevere also knew that she loved Jack for so long and betrayed his trust. It was all clear to Guinevere that she had been a fool.

"Oh, God," she sighed.