Thanks to DAFTLIKESPARROW for being awesome! Love you! Also thanks to Es for reviewing! In answer to your question, Es, I shall explain it all in this chapter! I hope it makes sense, because it makes sense to me… but then again, what works in my head doesn't always work outside of it! Thanks for the comment -- it means a lot and helps me out! Hope I don't let you down!
CHAPTER 2: The Legend and the Truth
Jack went up on deck and joined Gibbs, who was talking to Anamaria at the helm.
"So what's the story on this girl?" Gibbs asked Jack.
"Well, the poor thing lost 'er job an' got kicked out of 'er house an' 'as 'ardly any money at all…" Jack explained. "I couldn't just leave 'er there."
"Well, is she going to pull her weight, or what?" Anamaria asked. "I mean, if she's just here to 'swab your deck,' then I don't want anything to do with her."
"No, no, nothin' like that." Jack corrected. "Truth is, she can't do much at all. She can't fight or shoot or cook, and she isn' very strong at all…"
"So what did she do before?" Gibbs asked.
"She worked at an art gallery." Jack told them. "She's an artist."
"What use do we have for an artist on this ship?!" Anamaria exclaimed.
"Well, it couldn' 'urt." Jack said. "Besides, if you 'ad been in my position, you would've done the same thing. Poor girl…" He decided to change the subject. "So, did you get a look at that emerald, Gibbs? Pretty nice, eh?"
"Aye." Gibbs replied. "We could just sell it, rather than using it on this legend."
"I 'ave faith in the legend, Gibbs." Jack told him. "Don' lose 'ope yet."
Just then, Violet had finished her unpacking and joined Jack at the helm.
"Oh, 'ey, love." Jack greeted. "Let me introduce you to some of me crew. This is Gibbs and Anamaria."
"Nice to meet you." Violet greeted politely.
"Nice to meet you, too." Gibbs replied.
"Likewise." Anamaria said indifferently.
"Oh, yeah, I'll give you a tour o' the ship, savvy?" Jack said to Violet. She nodded and they went below deck. Jack pointed out things and places on the ship and she listened intently. Eventually, dinnertime came.
"So," he said, as they sat down in the dining room to eat, "what about this art gallery you worked at? Don' see many o' those."
"No, it's one of the first here in the Caribbean." Violet told him. "You've seen at least one in England, right?" Jack nodded. "Yes, they aren't very common yet, but I'm sure they'll catch on." She explained that she thought it was a good idea to put a gallery together of local artists. Mr. Lux had bought the gallery because he's rich and buys basically everything in town anyway.
They talked about a lot of things, just casual normal life stuff, but it was the most Violet had talked to him before. He still didn't find out much about her. She tended to change the subject whenever the conversation drifted to her past. Jack had been drinking rum and Violet kept eyeing the mug he was drinking out of suspiciously. Eventually, Jack noticed this and pointed it out.
"Do you want some rum, darling?" he asked.
"Oh, no!" she exclaimed. "No, I don't drink."
"Then, wha's wrong?"
"…Alcohol is bad." she stated.
"Always been a good friend o' mine." Jack replied.
"No, it's bad." she said. "You shouldn't drink it."
"Why not?" he asked, taking a large swig of rum.
"You'll die." she replied simply.
"I won' die." he told her. "I'm Captain Jack Sparrow, remember?"
"Yes, but… it's bad…" she said shyly, returning to her food. "I'm sorry, it's none of my business." He let it go. He loved his rum. Nothing was going to change that.
They finished their meals and Violet went up on deck, offering to swab it since she couldn't do much else; Jack stayed in the dining room to drink.
A little while later, Violet finished swabbing the deck and Anamaria came to her.
"Oh, good evening." Violet greeted.
"Yeah, hey, er, I have to tell you something." Anamaria said. Violet looked at her. Anamaria sighed in annoyance. "Jack's been drinking, as you know, and he's very drunk at the moment. He won't hurt you, but I know he finds you terribly attractive, so I'd advise you to stay away from him." Violet blushed at being called terribly attractive. "I mean, he knows not to mess with me, but… well, he's not a bad person, even when he's drunk. It's actually really entertaining from afar. If he tries to kiss you or something, though, just push him away and he'll probably leave. Just heading you up."
"Oh, er, erm, thank you." Violet told her. Anamaria nodded and walked off. Violet headed down to her room and unfortunately ran into Jack on her way there.
"Oh, 'ey, love." he greeted, staggering around more than usual.
"Er, good evening." she greeted, avoiding eye contact and attempting to rush past him. He grabbed her arm and she stopped.
"Where rr you off to?" he asked, slurring.
She wrenched her arm out of his grip and replied. "I'm going to sleep -- it's been an eventful day. I must thank you again for letting me join you on this wonderful ship."
"O' course, darling." he replied drunkenly.
"Er, anyway, I shall see you in the morning." she said uneasily. "Good night." She rushed past him and hurried to her room.
The next morning, Violet went up to the dining hall and found food placed out already. She sat down and waited a moment for Jack to join her, as it wasn't polite to begin a meal without your host, but Jack did not come, so she started the meal anyway. A few moments later, Jack staggered in.
"Good morning." Violet greeted timidly, trying to sense his sobriety.
"Mornin', love." he greeted with difficulty, a hand on his head. She avoided eye contact and ate her meal. He sat down and knocked a fork off the table. "Ah! Be quiet!" he yelled at the fork. "Ah!" he yelled at his own yell and held his head in pain.
"Are… er, are you alright?" Violet asked.
"Wonderful." Jack said flatly. He took a drink of water and started his meal. "I'll ve fine as long as there are no loud noises."
Just then, a cannonball broke through the window and flew past them creating a terrible racket. Jack looked around, shocked, but held his ears in pain nonetheless.
"Augh, what on earth…" he muttered. He got up and went out on deck; Violent followed.
"Cap'n!!" Gibbs yelled, rushing up to them.
"Oh, not so loud…" Jack groaned.
"We're being attacked! What are your orders?!" Gibbs asked urgently.
"Ugh, I can't think straight…" Jack said, disoriented. Violet glanced around and analyzed their situation.
"Cap'n!!" Gibbs yelled in urgency.
"Er, erm…" Jack stuttered, his headache taking over. Finally, the noise was too much -- he passed out. When he fell, he hit his forehead and cut it.
Gibbs looked panicked.
"Er, I have an idea…" Violet said, but no one heard her because she was too quiet. "Erm, excuse me." she said louder, but still no one heard. Another cannonball hit the ship and Violet realized that she coudnt get anything done by being quiet. "HEY!" she yelled as loud as she could. "THEIR CANNONS ARE ON THE STERN! DROP THE ANCHOR ON THE STARBOARD SIDE AND ATTACK! AIM FOR THEIR CANNONS AND DISABLE THEM! HIT A FEW OARS IF YOU CAN!!"
The crew looked at her in surprise, thinking they'd heard someone else. They considered her order.
"Do as the lady says!" Gibbs ordered, and the crew started to commence with the plan.
"Listen to the girl! Hurry up!" Anamaria barked. "She knows what she's saying!"
Violet knelt down next to Jack (who had fallen face first to the floor) and turned him over. She couldn't do much on deck, but she could bandage Jack's head for him. But not here in the line of fire. She would wait until the attack ended.
A little while later, the attack did end as the other ship sank and sent out its lifeboats; the Black Pearl sped off. Gibbs and a man named Mr. Cotton (who was a mute and whose parrot was rested on his shoulder spoke for him) carried Jack below deck to his room and Violet offered to bandage Jack's head. They agreed and provided her with bandages for which to do so.
Violet removed Jack's bandana and started to clean his wound. He woke up and looked around.
"What 'appened?" he asked groggily.
"You passed out." Violet told him.
"Well, aye, but with the attack."
"It was resolved. Someone else will tell you about it." she told him. "I looked after you during it."
"Oh. Well, thank you, darling." he said.
"You see what alcohol does?" she asked, cleaning his wound still. "Nothing good comes of it."
"Aye, but a nice escape.
"What have you to escape from?" she asked a little skeptically.
"What 'aven' I to escape from?" he asked.
"Well, you have a nice ship and a crew who listens to you." Violet told him. "What more do you want? And… don't you have the treasure of Isla de Muerta?"
"Aye, but it's not even that." he replied. "I 'ave a bad past, I can't escape it."
There are other methods of escape." she told him. "Like… reading a book or… talking to someone."
"Doesn' go away that easily, love." he said.
"Er, might I ask what you're trying to forget?" she asked.
"I've done a lot o' things in me past, sweetheart." he told her. "An' they're not all good either. A lot o' things I'd change, but I can't. It's not easy to live with."
"There's a better way to deal with things, though…" she said quietly. "I'm sorry, it really isn't my business… Oh, can you sit up so I can bandage your head?"
"Sure, love." he replied and sat up.
She started to bandage his head and realized he wasn't looking at her eyes… She shifted uncomfortably and tried to say something to divert his attention, but couldn't think of anything. "Er, erm… so, erm… er…" He looked up at her and smiled as if to say "I didn't do anything wrong!" She quickly finished bandaging and stepped away.
"Well," she began uneasily, "I'll leave you to your thoughts." and she hurried out of the room.
Jack lied back down, scolding himself for being so shallow. A few moments later, Gibbs came in to check on him.
"How're you doing, Cap'n?" Gibbs asked.
"Besides the fact that I'm a fool, I'm fine." Jack replied.
"What do you mean?" Gibbs asked him.
"Nothin', nothin'." Jack dismissed. "Anyway, 'ow'd the attack go?"
"Very well, actually." Gibbs told him. "Miss Violet was the one who actually saved us all."
"What?" Jack asked, looking over at Gibbs.
"Aye, she yelled out some orders and they led us to our victory."
"Wow…" Jack said. "…She yelled?" Gibbs nodded. "An' I didn' know she knew anythin' about ships… Will you go and get 'er to come in 'ere?"
"Aye, Cap'n." Gibbs replied and left the room. A few minutes later, Violet entered the room awkwardly.
"Yes?" she asked. "You wanted to speak with me?"
"Aye, sit down." he told her, sitting up. She looked around and saw nowhere to sit… He saw her hesitation and gestured to the foot of his bed. She blushed, but sat down uncomfortably. "Gibbs told me that you gave the orders that led us to victory. I didn' know you knew anythin' about ships."
"Er, yes, I, erm, well, I've read a lot of stories…" she replied. "A lot of pirate stories."
"Oh, good. I'm glad. See? There's somethin' you can 'elp with. You can be my advisor." he said with a smile. She smiled shyly.
"Oh, might I ask you something?" she asked.
"Sure, love." he replied. "What is it?"
"Er, can I ask what you were doing in Sunset Villa?" she asked, referring to her hometown. "Erm, and why were you running from the guards?"
"Well, I can't lie to you…" he said. "I stole somethin' from the governor… the Emerald of the Sea."
Violet gasped. "The Emerald of the Sea?! Oh, my, if they catch you they'll hang you for sure!"
"It's that way in most towns around 'ere." he replied. "Don' worry, though, it'll be fine -- it's for the greater good."
"The greater good?"
"Aye… you see, we need this along with other gems and things that I don' actually know what they are yet… er, in order to find the lost the lost treasure of Charlemagne."
"The what?" Violet asked.
"The lost treasure of Charlemagne." Jack repeated.
"Charlemagne… didn't have a lost treasure…" Violet said. "He wasn't nearly as rich as the kings who came after him… Besides, everything he had he left to his sons, and then it got split up between them and it got inherited throughout the countries they ruled when Charlemagne's empire split."
"You know your 'istory." Jack told her, rather impressed.
"Well, I read a lot…" she replied shyly.
"Good." he said. "Alrigh', look, there really is a lost treasure of Charlemagne. 'e 'ad 'is men go down to Egypt an' rob the tomb and steal the treasure of Seti the first."
"Seti the first…?" Violet asked. "Wait a second… I've heard this story… It's a legend… A bedtime story, really. It isn't true…" she thought for a moment and her eyes widened in amazement and curiosity, "…is it?" she asked hopefully.
"It's absolutely true." Jack told her. "Me dad always told me the story of it an' I finally decided to go after it."
"How do you know where to look?" Violet asked.
"Accordin' to legend, the first thing we 'ad to get was a green jewel of the ocean." he explained. "What better than the Emerald of the Sea? This should some'ow tell us what the next clue is."
"Clue?"
"Aye, you see, no one knows the location of the treasure anymore." he explained. "So, there's a string of clues that'll tell us where it is. For example, Gibbs is tryin' to figure out what the secret to the Emerald of the Sea is -- whatever 'e finds will lead us to the next clue that will lead us to the next one that will lead us to a lot more which will finally lead us to the treasure."
"Maybe I can help." Violet said.
"You think so?" Jack asked.
"Well, I don't know… I mean, I can't do much, but I can try…" Violet replied timidly.
"Alrigh', I'll go an' get the Emerald from Gibbs." Jack said, sitting up.
"Oh, er, should you, er, be moving around like this?" she asked.
"Aye, I'll be fine." he told her. "Wait 'ere, I'll be back in a moment." He got up and left the room. A few moments later, he returned carrying the Emerald. He sat down next to Violet and handed it to her.
"Oh, wow, this is the most expensive thing I've ever been in the presence of… Just a chip off of this is worth… worlds more than I am." she said a bit jokingly.
"Ah, love, the truth is that a jus' little piece of you is worth worlds more than it." he told her.
She blushed and stumbled for words. "Erm, er, th-thank you… I, er, I, er, er, yeah… erm, anyway…" She avoided his eyes and stared at the gem. "Was anything else said about the first clue? Like… what was the context of the story?"
"Erm, I think it said something like… 'the afternoon light of the green jewel of the ocean will guide you,' or something." he replied.
"The afternoon light…?" Violet mumbled. She looked around the room and stood up. She crossed to the window and Jack followed interestedly. She held it under a ray of sun that was shining through the window; Jack leaned over her shoulder, watching intently. Violet noticed this and inched away a little so that Jack wouldn't be too close. The rays of light shone through the gem onto the ground and there were…
"Words!" Violet exclaimed. "Could you try to read them, please?"
"Sure, sweetheart." Jack replied and crouched down on the ground. He examined the words and read them aloud: "Let's see… it says 'The Sword of King Arthur…'"
Violet handed the gem back to Jack. "Apparently, we have to find the Sword of King Arthur… But… there's no set facts about King Arthur…"
"We'll 'ave to do some studyin', won' we?" Jack replied. "Well, I should give this back to Gibbs."
"You're going to return it to the Governor when our journey is done, aren't you?" Violet asked politely.
He looked at her and suddenly felt extremely guilty. "We'll see, darling. The crew may be more attached to it than I am. I'll do what I can."
"That's very good of you, Jack." Violet said.
"Wait 'ere a minute -- I'm not done with you yet." he said with a playful smile. She wasn't exactly sure how to take it, so she just nodded and sat down. Jack left the room and returned the gem to Gibbs. He informed him that they'd figured out the clue, and that they'd better head towards England for obvious King Arthur reasons. Jack went back to his room where Violet was waiting patiently for him to return.
"Alrigh'," he began, "now, I think you need to learn a few things if you're goin' to be comin' on me adventures. The first thing is definitely sword fightin'. I'll 'ave to teach you."
"Oh, well, I, er… I suppose so." Violet hesitated.
"I'll teach you tomorrow, savvy?" Jack said. She nodded. "Alrigh', it's a date, then." She blushed, bid him good day, and left the room.
New adventures begin… in more ways than one…
Alright! That's chapter two! Hope I didn't let anyone down! Thanks for sticking with me this long -- I hope you'll keep reading! Thanks, I love you all! Please review!!
BTW, all must buy the cd We Are Not Alone by Breaking Benjamin. They rock so hard its not even funny! I love it!!
