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CHAPTER 5: OUT OF SIGHT, NEVER OUT OF MIND.
The next day, they all examined the Sword for any possible clues. They scoured the text of the story for anything that could help them figure things out. This one wasn't so hard to figure out - it was right in the text.
"The Sword is the key to the cave unknown at… er… these bearings…" Violet read, showing the map to Jack. "The rock of the sun is the keyhole to succession."
"Well, it was easy this time. The bearin's are righ' there." Jack said.
"Yes, but… Where is this?" Violet asked. "Where would these bearings put us?"
"Hmm… let me get a map." he told her, getting up to retrieve one. "Judgin' by the bearin's themselves, I'd say it'll put us somewhere … in or near America." He pulled out a map and scanned it, running his fingers along it. "Mexico."
"I-I've never been to Mexico…"
"Me either!" Jack replied excitedly. "Lucky us!"
"I've… heard many things about Mexico…" Violet hesitated.
"Oh, love, it'll be an adventure!" he pressed. "Excitin' an'… adventurous!" Violet still looked nervous. "'ey, nothin's goin' to 'urt you. 'specially because you're my girl. You got nothin' to be afraid of, Let." She looked up at him trustingly and smiled, nodding.
It would take them three months to sail back to the Caribbean and up the Gulf of Mexico. They sent Christine back to Sunset Villa on a passenger ship - good riddance. They planned to dock somewhere off the coast of Florida and then call on Pyhrrus to fly them to the bearings.
Pyhrrus picked them up and flew them across America, into Mexico.
"Thank you, Pyhrrus." Violet told him. "We will call upon you again once we get what we need."
"It's fairly deserted here - I'll wait." Pyhrrus said. Violet nodded and he and Jack looked around, searching for "the rock of the sun." The sun was setting and cast shadows on the land.
"Hey…" Violet said, looking up at a tall rock - light leaked through it and gleamed onto a rock nearby it.
"That's it!" Jack exclaimed, hurrying over to the rock. There was a keyhole-shaped light shining on a slit in the rock. Jack pulled out the Sword and stuck it in the slit of the rock. Rumbling commenced…
"Uh oh…" Violet mumbled. Pyhrrus stomped over to them.
"Grab onto my talons!" Pyhrrus yelled, and Jack and Violet obeyed. He flew up into the air and hovered there just as the ground gave way. Pyhrrus landed next to the large hole that was formed and Jack and Violet stared down into it. There was a staircase leading downward…
"Looks like there are torches…" Jack said. "They're not lit, though…" Suddenly, Pyhrrus breathed fire into the cave, lighting all the torches that lined the walls. "Thanks."
"Anytime." Pyhrrus replied. "now go and get… whatever you're getting… What is it you're getting?"
"The story said we would be gettin' some kind o' staff." Jack told him.
"Ah…" Pyhrrus said. "Staffs are used for magic, you realize. I'd suggest you be wary." They nodded and ventured into the cave. Jack grabbed one of the torches and they continued on.
They trekked far down the tunnel until it turned left and opened into a huge cave. Trails led through it, stalagmites and stalactites were rank throughout it.
"Take left or right - it matters not." a voice echoed. They looked around and saw no one. "The trails all lead to the guardian. Pure of intention, I see. Tell me, before you choose a trail, who is better? Men or women? Do not lie, I can tell if you do. Sir, you answer first."
"Well… they're equal." he replied, looking for the voice.
"…And you, miss, what do you think?" the voice asked. It sounded female, but deep - the echoes impaired their ability to decipher the gender of the voice.
"I-I certainly think they are equal!" Violet said uneasily.
The voice said nothing for a moment. "Yes, you both are sincere. Choose the left path. The right leads to a pit of spikes."
They looked at each other, but headed down the left trail, Jack taking Violet's hand.
Finally, they came to another tunnel that opened into a huge torch lit room. In the middle of the room, a woman sat on a rock, holding a staff. She wore a black cloak that wrapped around her, but her head was left uncovered. She had long black hair that shone in the torchlight.
"You're here for the Staff of Trials, aren't you?" the woman asked. "It's yours. Take it." Jack started toward her, but she put a hand out to stop him. "Not you. The girl." Violet glanced at Jack, but walked toward the woman and took the staff from her. "You will suffer three trials for this."
"'ey! You didn' tell us that!" Jack yelled as Violet returned to him. He grabbed her hand.
"Whoops." the woman said flatly. "Anyway, you will lose some of your senses. Once you gain back the first one, you lose another, perhaps two, and then when you gain them back, you'll lose another. After all is done, if you have trudged through the trials well, you will get instructions on going to the next clue. Good luck." She disappeared into thin air.
Violet looked worried, but they hurried out of the cave and back to Pyhrrus, who flew them back to the ship. It was nighttime when they got back to the Pearl. They thanked Pyhrrus and he flew back home. Jack and Violet put the Staff in Jack's room and talked for a moment.
"Nigh', Let." he bid her, and kissed her forehead. Her brow furrowed.
"Wait…" she mumbled. She placed her hands on his cheeks and looked panicked. "I can't… I can't feel you, Jack! She was right! I can't feel you!"
"Er, now, don' panic, love…" he told her consolingly. She threw her arms around his waist and hugged him tightly. She shook her head and backed away from him.
"I can't feel you!" she panicked. "Your warmth is gone!"
"W-well, sweetheart, it could be worse…" he said.
"I-I suppose so…" she trailed off.
"Get some rest, darling." he told her and kissed her.
"…I can't feel it…" she said quietly and sighed. "Well, good night, Jack…"
"Nigh', love."
Violet was having a hard time dealing with this loss of feeling. She didn't eat much and slept a lot. Jack was worried about her, but couldn't do anything about it. This remained consistent for a week, when one day she got the sense back.
"Jack!" she cried, bursting into his room. "I can feel now! Of course, I discovered it by cutting my finger on accident, but I can feel, nonetheless!"
"Oh, good! I was so worried about you, darling!" he exclaimed, hugging her.
"I missed this… feeling your warmth…" she sighed.
"Don' worry, sweetheart everything is goin' to be fine." he told her. "You're goin' to be…" his voice faded out.
She looked up at him and his mouth was still moving. She opened her mouth to say "Jack, I can't hear you!" but nothing came out. She looked terrified.
"What?" Jack asked, though she couldn't hear him.
"I can't hear you!" she mouthed, her voice gone.
"Sweetheart…"
"I can't even hear myself!" she mouthed, not realizing her voice was absent.
"Darling, you… you're voice… it's gone…" he said worriedly.
"No! I've got to be able to hear you!" she mouthed. "I have to hear your voice! This isn't fair!"
He realized what was going on and went to his desk and fished out some parchment and a quill and ink. He wrote something down and handed it to her.
'You've lost your voice' it said.
'Oh, no…' she thought. She grabbed the quill and wrote.
'How can I go without hearing anything?' she wrote. 'I'll go insane!'
Jack read over it and thought for a moment. 'If you need anything at any hour of the day, just' he hesitated, 'write it down and bring it to me.' She nodded. 'You hungry?' She shook her head.
'Will you come to my room with me? I want to paint you.' she wrote. 'It's all I can do to express myself.'
'Of course, Let.' he wrote back. They went to her room and she painted for several hours. She had paint and she had books. She could survive even without her hearing and voice as long as she had those things. She wasn't sure how she could deal with seven days of silence, but she was going to do her best.
Over the next week, she painted a lot and read a lot. She slept quite a bit so she wouldn't have to deal with silent life. Though, paint was all she needed. She could paint and paint and paint and be perfectly content. She missed the sound of her own voice, singing quietly which no one ever heard, anyway. One day, though, her senses returned to her, much to her relief. She happened to be eating dinner at the time. Jack had been humming a song and she could faintly hear it. She jerked her head up at Jack.
"Jack!" she exclaimed, her voice hoarse, smiling in relief.
He looked at her. "Oh, love! Your voice is back! I was going crazy without it."
"Oh, me too - and I couldn't hear you! That was horrible…" she said. "I just hope this next sense that's going to be taken away isn't worse than that…"
"Me too, sweetheart." he told her, and leaned over and kissed her. "Whatever is next, I'll still be 'ere for you." She gazed into his eyes. Everything started to lose its color and then went black. She blinked and rubbed her eyes. She started to panic and her breathing quickened. "What? What is it?" She continued to breathe quickly.
"Jack, I can't see!" she cried, feeling out with her hands for his. He took her hands in his.
"Oh, love, it's alrigh'." he said comfortingly. "You'll be fine!"
"No, I won't!" she exclaimed. "You don't understand! I have to be able to see! I can't paint if I can't see! I can't read! I can't do anything!"
"Oh, sweetheart, calm down, it's alrigh'." he comforted.
"It is not alright!" she cried, standing up. "Jack, I can't live like this!"
"Darling, don' panic." he told her, hugging her. She struggled, panicking. "Stop. Stop - it's alrigh'! It's alrigh'. I'll never leave your side, savvy? I promise." She stopped struggling and hugged him back.
"But… for seven days… what am I going to do with my time for seven days?" she asked helplessly.
"I'll be 'ere - I'll entertain you somehow." he assured. She hugged him still.
They spent quite a lot of time on deck - Jack needed to steer the ship and Violet liked the feel of the sea air. That night, Jack led Violet to her room and was bidding her goodnight when thunder crashed loudly. Violet let out a small scream and stumbled; Jack caught her.
"It's jus' a storm, sweetheart, it's alright." he comforted, hugging her.
"I-I hate them…" she hesitated. "They scare me… a lot…"
"Oh, darling… Are you goin' to be alrigh'?" he asked, concerned.
"Er, yes, I'll be - AH!" she cried as thunder crashed again. "I'll be fine."
"I'll stay with you, love." he told her.
"Oh, that's… that wouldn't be very…"
"I'll sleep on the floor." he said. "But I'll be 'ere all nigh'."
"Oh, no, you don't have to do that. Don't go out of your way for me."
"I want to." he stated.
She nodded (against her better judgment). "Er, I have to get dressed for bed - my closet is in… that general direction, isn't it?" she asked, pointing at the window.
"No." he replied, smiling. "If you'd gone that way, you'd 'ave fallen into the Caribbean. That's not so fun."
"Oh…"
"I'll 'elp you over there." he told her, putting an arm around her; they walked over to the closet.
"Thank you." she said, feeling out for the doorknob and opening the door. "Oh… I can't see anything… like what is what…" She entered her closet and felt around until she felt something that seemed like it was nightwear-like… "What is this?" she asked, turning around.
"A stunning nightgown that I strongly suggest you wear." he replied with a smirk, even though she couldn't see it.
"Er, alright…" she said, blushing. "Er, if you wouldn't mind…" she ushered him out of the closet while she dressed. A few minutes later, she stepped out of the closet. "It's not on backwards, is it?" she asked doggedly.
"No, you look perfectly gorgeous." he told her.
She blushed. "Er, erm, can you help me get over to the bed, please?" she asked, awkwardly reaching her hand out to him. He took it and helped her to her bed. Thunder crashed and she jumped. She got under the covers. "Jack, it's not fair that you have to sleep on the floor. You don't have to stay here."
"No, sweetheart, it's alrigh' - I don' want you to be alone." he told her. "I can't imagine what it must be like to not be able to see."
"But… the floor isn't comfortable - please don't sleep on the floor… I'd feel really bad…"
"Don' worry about it, love." he told her. "If I get uncomfortable, I'll just find something else to sleep on - don' worry." She sighed and nodded. "Nigh', Let."
"Goodnight." she bid and he kissed her. A little while later, she fell asleep, feeling safer than she had in a long time…
After a few hours, Jack started to grow increasingly uncomfortable on the hard wood floor. He stood up and sat in a chair by the door. He shifted to about seventeen thousand positions before he decided it was futile. He looked around the room; the only other option was sleeping next to Violet… She wouldn't like that… But she was asleep. She'd never know - as long as she didn't wake up… He went to the side of her bed and looked at her, silently asleep. He slowly lied down, hoping not to wake her. He put an arm around her, hoping it would comfort her a little.
An hour later, thunder crashed and Violet jumped. She woke up, but Jack didn't… Her eyes shot open as she felt the arm around her. She was tired and didn't even think it could be Jack since she wasn't used to Jack being there in the first place… She started breathing quicker and panicking. She squirmed out of bed and fell to the floor with a thud. Jack had woken up and saw what was happening. He quickly got up and knelt down next to her, taking her arm. She struggled to get free.
"Let, sweetheart, it's alrigh'." he said comfortingly.
"Jack?" she asked, still breathing quickly.
"Aye, it is - I'm sorry about that… the floor did turn out to be rather uncomfortable…"
"I-I'm sorry about that…" she told him as he helped her up. "I didn't realize it was you…"
"Well… who else would it be?" he asked.
"Er, I-I don't know - I was half asleep, after all." she replied and lied down again.
"Look, love, I want to stay with you - I promise you I won' do anythin' if you jus' let me-"
"No, Jack, it's not a good idea." she told him firmly.
"Darling, I won'-"
"No." she stated. He sighed. "But I don't want you to suffer on the floor either… Just go back to your room - I'm fine now."
"…Are you sure?" he asked.
"Yes, I'm fine." she replied.
"Well… alrigh'… I'll check on you in the mornin', savvy?"
She nodded and he left the room. She turned over and tears came to her eyes.
"Why do I have to have so much wrong with me?" she whispered to herself.
The next morning, Jack woke up and went to Violet's room to see if she was awake. She was standing next to the window, which she'd opened, dressed for the day, listening to the ocean.
"Mornin', love." he said, coming into her room.
"Hi." she greeted blankly. He went to her side and put an arm around her waist. She stepped away from him uncomfortably. "Erm, why don't we go to breakfast?"
"Sure, darling." he replied, taking her hand to help her get to the dining room. She didn't return the hand-holding, merely let her hand be held because she had to. "You alrigh', sweetheart?" he asked as they went to the dining room.
"Yes, I'm fine." she told him. "Of course I'm fine."
They got to the dining room and sat down. Will and Elizabeth were there eating already.
"Good morning, Violet, Jack." they greeted. They greeted them back.
Violet felt around for her fork and knife and started to attempt to cut her ham, but wasn't doing a very good job of it. She sawed jaggedly at one piece of ham for five minutes. Jack, Will, and Elizabeth all watched her with pity in their eyes. She finally got a piece of ham cut and put it in her mouth (not before missing and hitting her cheek).
"I may not be able to see, but I can feel when people stare at me - I'd like you all to stop, please." she said.
They all muttered an uncomfortable "sorry," and went back to their meals. She reached out for her glass of water and nearly tipped it over before finally getting a drink of it. She set the glass back down and felt around for her fork and knife again.
"Do you need any 'elp, darling?" Jack asked, concerned.
"No." she replied, a little irritated.
"Are you alright, Violet?" Elizabeth asked. "We just want to help you."
"Of course I'm alright - I'm always alright." Violet snapped.
"Are you sure you're alright?" Will asked.
Violet sighed, annoyed. "Of course I'm not alright! I can't paint, I can't read, I can't see Jack, I can't see the ocean, I can't see the food on my plate! I AM NOT ALRIGHT!" She was in tears by this time. "I can't function like this! My whole life, all I've had was everything my eyes could see to get me out of all my terrible situations! If I kept staring at the sunset, time would pass, wounds would heal, and I'd be alright like I always have to be! I don't even have that escape anymore! My parents and Robert Townsend and Christine and all the stupid people in Sunset Villa who never let up! I have no escape left!" She buried her face in her hands and sobbed into them. Jack started to get up, but Elizabeth, sitting next to him, placed a hand on his arm.
"Don't." she whispered to him warningly. "Sometimes touching people to comfort them just makes it worse." He looked at her worriedly. After a few moments, Violet overcame her tears.
"I'm sorry I did that…" Violet said. "I'm really sorry…"
"No, sweetheart, it's alrigh'." Jack told her. "We jus' want you to feel better - we want to 'elp you.
Elizabeth got up and went to Violet. "Can I talk to you for a little, Violet?" she asked, taking Violet's hand. Violet nodded and they left the room.
Jack and Will looked at each other, wondering what to do. They took the man's way out and dug into their food.
"Violet, will you tell me something?" Elizabeth asked, leading Violet to the end of the ship.
"Er, I-I suppose so…" Violet replied uneasily.
"Who's Robert Townsend?" Elizabeth asked.
Violet faltered. "Erm…" she paused, thinking. "Er, I don't… really want to… talk about it."
"Violet, please." Elizabeth pressed. "I just want to help you."
Violet furrowed her brow, debating whether to tell her or not… She finally surrendered the information…
"…But please don't tell Jack! Please!" Violet pleaded. "He won't want anything to do with me! Please don't tell him!"
"Violet, I think you underestimate Jack's character-"
"No!" Violet cried. "Please! Please, don't tell him!"
Elizabeth sighed. "Alright, but you have to promise me you'll tell him at some point."
"…I don't have to tell him…"
"Violet, you can't have secrets and mysteries in a relationship." Elizabeth told her. "Jack hardly knows anything about your past - you have to open up to him sometime."
"Yes… but not now." Violet said. She sighed. "Elizabeth… I've never had anything like this… I've never known anyone like Jack before… It's hard for me to handle it. I'm struggling with deciding what to do… No one's ever cared about me like that before…"
"Oh, Violet, that can't be true."
"No one. Ever." Violet stated. Elizabeth looked at her with pity. "I don't want to lose him…"
"You won't lose him." Elizabeth assured.
"So, who is 'e?" Jack asked Elizabeth curiously, later that day, while Violet was in her room.
"I can't tell you…" Elizabeth replied hesitantly. "She made me promise."
"What? Fine - if I guess, you 'ave to nod." Jack told her.
"No, I promised - but I made her promise she'd tell you sometime." Elizabeth said. "She's really fragile… She said no one had ever cared about her like you - no one… Don't hurt her, Jack. Even when you're not thinking about it, you could hurt her… Don't. Be really careful about what you say - she really is fond of you. Very fond."
Jack nodded. "I won' 'urt 'er. I could never do that. I jus' want to 'elp 'er."
"You should go to her - she's just sitting in her room." she told him.
"Alrigh'. Thanks, Elizabeth." he said and went down to Violet's room. "'ey, sweetheart." he greeted, entering her room. She was lying on her bed, eyes blankly open. She turned her head in his general direction upon hearing him.
"Hi, Jack." she greeted.
"'ow are you doin'?" he asked concernedly.
"I'm fine." she replied. "I'm sorry I spoke out like I did at breakfast…"
"No, darling, you 'ad to get it out - it was good."
"Erm… would you… well… are you busy…?" she hesitated.
"No, free as a sparrow." he joked. She laughed.
"Er, would you read me something?" she asked.
"Sure, love, what?"
"The, er, Shakespeare on my dresser over there. Romeo and Juliet. I'm at the climax and I hated to stop reading where I did." she told him.
He went to the dresser and retrieved the book. Without thinking, we went around to the side of her bed and sat down on it. It hit him.
"Oh… can I sit down 'ere?" he asked. "Do you mind?" She shook her head. "Alrigh', then, let's see…" He opened the book and sat back up against the headboard. He grabbed her hand and started to read.
Over the next few days, Jack and Violet were inseparable and passed the time reading and talking. Jack didn't stay in her room again, and was a little distant because he didn't want Violet to go off again. Finally, her vision was returned to her one day - much to her joy.
"The staff!" she cried. "Remember? It was going to tell us where to go!"
Jack and Violet dashed to Jack's room to retrieve the staff. Jack picked it up and examined it. Suddenly, light shot out from the end and numbers shone on the wall.
"Bearin's…" Jack mumbled. "Write them down for me, love, savvy?"
Violet nodded and grabbed a piece of parchment from Jack's desk. She took a quill and ink from a drawer and wrote the bearings down. Jack set the staff down and joined Violet by the desk.
"Where is this, Jack?" Violet asked curiously.
"England." he replied. "…Again. But… hmm… this seems to be a little north of it. Must be an island. Hmm… let's see… It'll be just before winter when we get there… Well… we'll jus' 'ave to prepare, then, eh?"
"What about food and provisions?" Violet asked. "We're almost out. We need money. And we can't steal it, Jack, that's not nice."
He sighed. "Whatever you want, love. We'll go to Tortuga an' get a job in the village jus' outside o' it - it's not as rough as Tortuga an' always needs people to sell things. We'll 'ave to be vendors, basically. I remember last time I was there, they needed people for the job."
"Oh, that's fine!" Violet said happily. "As long as we're being honest."
Jack kissed her forehead, wondering if a pirate was really who should have her heart…
Don't think Jack's getting to out of character yet. REVIEW!
