"Oy! Miss Sparrow!"
Violet Charles turned to see the young merchant, Mr. Barclay, beckoning her away from the side of the boat. She walked over to him, her respectable shoes clicking on the deck beneath her.
She was currently dressed in an extravagant gown, her cloak, cutlass, and hat stored by her bunk underneath the deck. She had managed to steal the dress off a storekeeper before boarding the merchant ship, which was three weeks before. The merchants would hardly believe her story if she came in dressed like a pirate. She hated the dress, and every minute spent in it was another test of her willpower to see whether or not she would rip it up into shreds.
"Yes, Mr. Barclay?" she asked politely, injecting a tinge of a noblewoman's accent into her words. She had been on this blasted boat for a year now, and she was sick and tired of being Katherine Sparrow.
"Please, how many times must I tell you to call me Samuel?" Mr. Barclay asked, and Violet let out a tinkling laugh. She'd been working on that, too.
"I suppose I shall, Samuel, if you will call me Katherine," she said pleasantly, and the young man gave her a kind smile that made her want to claw her eyes out.
"Very well then, Katherine. I just wished to inform you that we will be navigating through some dangerous territory, and so you should prepare yourself for a possible encounter of pirates," Samuel said gravely. Violet put a hand to her mouth to hide her sudden outburst of laughter, quickly twisting it into a gasp.
"Pirates?" she asked, and Samuel nodded.
"Do not worry, madam. We will do our best to make the passage safely," he said reassuringly, and Violet nodded.
"Of course. You have my full confidence," she said sweetly before turning back to the railing of the boat. She knew these seas, just as she had this entire voyage. They were in pirate waters, and she knew exactly where.
They were nearing Tortuga.
She had to get off the boat, but she had no idea how. Katherine, the charming, meek widow would have no reason to want to visit Tortuga, especially not with all the disgusting pirates that swarmed the place.
Finally, Violet decided that, Katherine or not, she would get to that damned island one way or the other.
By the time the boat sailed past Tortuga, it was well into the afternoon, the sun shining hot and bright in the sky. All four merchants were milling about on deck now, all on guard with their cargo stored far below deck.
Violet had gathered her clothes, sword, and hat in a black satchel she had found below deck, and had slung it over the shoulder of her long dress. There was no time to change. She had to act now, or they'd miss Tortuga.
"Excuse me!" she called, attracting the attention of all four pirates. "Can I trouble you with a request?"
"Of course, ma'am," one of the merchants said, and Violet sighed dramatically, pointing to Tortuga as they neared the port.
"Would it be a bother to you to drop me off there?" she asked, and the men gave each other confused looks.
"Trust me, Katherine, you don't want to go there," Samuel said, shaking his head. "That's Tortuga, and it's filled straight to the brim with pirates."
"Please, Samuel, could you do this for me?" she crooned, batting her eyelashes, and Samuel cleared his throat awkwardly.
"Er- I suppose, but it's far too dangerous-" he began, but she cut him off.
"That's not a problem. I'm craving a little adventure after a year spent confined to the deck," she said with a smile, and the men turned to each other, shrugging.
Minutes later, she was standing alone on the Tortuga docks, waving to the merchants as they sailed away. She had ignored Samuel's incessant warnings of the dangers and the pirates and had finally extracted herself from the man by practically jumping off the boat onto land.
There she was, her satchel in hand, back on her least favorite island in the whole world with nothing to her name but a coin. She gripped said piece of eight in her hand, trying to remember the feel of Jack's fingers on her own.
"I'm sorry to bother you, sir, but do you know the whereabouts of Captain Jack Sparrow?"
Violet stopped in her tracks, searching for the speaker. Did she hear correctly? The voice sounded so familiar…
"Cannot say about Jack Sparrow. But dere's a island, just south of de straits, where I trade spice for... mmm... delicious long pork. Cannot say about Jack. But you find a ship dere. A ship wit' black sails."
This was a different voice, and Violet found the speaker easily: a large shrimper mending his nets as he lounged on the dock. But who was he speaking to?
Then she spotted him.
William Turner, looking hilariously out of place in the midst of all these pirates. He shifted from foot to foot, his brow creased in worry. Why in the seven seas was he looking for Jack?
"Will!" she shouted, sprinting over to him. Will turned, startled, his face utterly confused as she ran towards him.
"Who…" he began, but as Violet landed in front of him and stared into his warm brown eyes, recognition dawned on his face. "Violet?"
"What are you doing here?" she asked, grinning wildly. But the boy looked more serious then she had seen him before, like something weighed heavily upon his shoulders. He was more a man than a boy by now, really. "I would have thought you'd be married by now."
"What are you wearing?" Will asked, ignoring her words and staring questioningly at her garments. It was then that Violet remembered her cumbersome dress, which was adorned in ruffles and hanging in heavy folds around her figure. Groaning, she kicked the tiny shoes she had stolen with the dress into the ocean and dug around in her satchel for her boots.
"That's much better," she said, slipping them on over her feet.
"Interesting fashion choice," Will commented, and she glared at him.
"If you'd known what I have had to endure, William, you would not be saying that," she said with a glare, but Will was just staring at the dress, completely confused. "I had to steal it to board a merchant ship, alright? They never would have believed my story otherwise."
"And what story was that?" he asked her casually, and she rolled her eyes, not wanting to relive a single minute of the experience.
"That I was a poor widow in need of passage across the ocean. They ate it up, of course. There's no way they would have believed Violet Charles, but Katherine Sparrow-" she quickly cut herself off, and a smile broke across Will's face.
"Katherine Sparrow, eh?" he asked, and Violet glared at him.
"It was the first thing that came into my head," she said defiantly, and he nodded mockingly.
"Of course it was," Will said, and she sighed, turning away from him.
"But you haven't answered my question yet, William," she said, and now it was his turn to look deflated and let out a heavy sigh.
"There's much to say," he said, and Violet folded her arms.
"I've got plenty of time."
"I was set to marry Elizabeth," he began, and Violet clapped excitedly. "But our celebrations were interrupted when a man named Cutler Beckett-"
"You're joking," Violet said, stopping him.
"Do you know him?" Will asked, and Violet groaned, putting a hand on her forehead in frustration.
"Cutler Beckett," she said, spitting his last name with malice, "was the one who got me imprisoned three years ago and got me on the same ship as Jack in the first place. He's a dirty bastard who'll stop at nothing until he gets what he wants."
"He had four warrants for arrest. Two for me and Elizabeth, and two for you and Jack," Will said with worry on his face. "I made a, er, bargain with him in order to free Elizabeth, and in order to fulfill my end I need to find him. And you, actually."
"What sort of bargain?" Violet asked, knowing full well that Will was leaving plenty out of his little explanation.
"I- I can't tell you, Captain. But if you would come with me-" Violet held up a hand to silence him, giving him a dark look.
"You'd turn me in? After all I've done for you?" she said angrily, and Will hung his head.
"He'd kill her, Captain. He'd kill Elizabeth," Will said sadly, and Violet rolled her eyes at his pitiful display. There was no way she was going back to the hands of Cutler Beckett. Not in this world or the next.
"And I'll kill you before I go back to Cutler Beckett," she hissed, and Will blanched at her words. She didn't regret them. The boy had overstepped his boundaries.
"Please, Captain. At least help me find Jack. You know the man far better than I do," Will pleaded, and she stared at him, the name ringing in her ears. Jack. It had been a year since she'd last seen Captain Jack Sparrow, and not a day went by that she didn't think about him. She hated it.
"What makes you think I'd want to see him?" she said coldly, and Will looked into her eyes, confusion on her face.
"Well, when you two said goodbye, you certainly-"
"Do shut up, Will, while you still can," she growled, and he quickly shut his mouth. She sighed, staring out at the lapping waves below the dock. Would she really find herself swept up in another adventure with Jack and the trouble that always seemed to find him? She wanted it, yes, her blood sang at the thought of it. But it had been hard enough to leave him the first time. Should she just throw away the year of agony on that merchant ship she had put herself through, telling herself that the longer she was away from him, the better?
"What is it you need from Jack?" she said finally, and Will looked up eagerly, ready to make his case.
"To convince him to return to Port Royal. You as well. In exchange, Beckett promises to drop the charges against Elizabeth and I," Will said earnestly, and Violet groaned, running a hand through her tangled hair.
"It's a death trap," she groaned, shaking her head. "Jack will never bite."
"I have to try, Captain. And if you help me, I'll do everything in my power to convince Beckett to drop charges against you. And get you a ship," Will added, and Violet perked up. A ship?
"What if I walk away now? Beckett wouldn't find me," she said coldly, and Will threw up his hands in frustration.
"Maybe not. But where would you go? You have no ship, no crew, just a list of enemies. Please, Captain. If not for me, then for Elizabeth," Will begged, and Violet contemplated his words. Maybe she could kill Beckett once she was delivered to him. For that, she would pay all the treasure in the Isla de Muerta.
"If I am taken back into Beckett's custody, I will end you," she said darkly, and Will grinned, practically skipping with delight.
"Thank you, Captain!" he chirped, and Violet rolled her eyes, furious with herself. She was a fool. But wasn't she always when it came to Captain Jack?
Violet and Will sat in a small rowboat next to a tall sailor, Violet's dress taking up half the vessel. She hadn't had time to change yet, and the rocking of the boat on the waves made her long for her trousers as she was jostled around.
"Ne bougeais pas, c'set beaucoup trop dangereaux," babbled the sailor, and Violet rolled her eyes, glaring at him.
"What in the seven seas are you saying?" she groaned, exasperated, and the sailor shot her a dirty look.
"Je ne pois, c'est trop dangereaux, j'avais le dit," he spat at her, and she narrowed her eyes, ready to fight, but Will put a hand on her arm.
"Come on. I think he's saying we have to get out," he clarified, and Violet shook her head.
"Do you expect me to swim in this thing?" she demanded, holding up a fold of fabric from her elaborate gown. "I'll drown."
"You'll be fine," Will said, and before she could pull her cutlass out and run him through with it, Will Turner dragged her out of the rowboat and into the churning ocean below.
A/N: Hello everyone! I'm so excited to finally be posting the beginning of Dead Man's Chest! To all those of you who have reviewed: Thank you, thank you, thank you! It may not seem like a lot but it means so much to me and your support is what motivates me to put out more chapters! To those who haven't, please consider reviewing as I would love to hear your feedback. I hope you enjoy this chapter :) -EverSparrow