I'm finally updating! YAY! Anyway, thanks to all who reviewed! I have something to talk about with you all, but I'll do it at the end of the chapter! Enjoy!
CHAPTER 6: Conflicts Conflicting
"Cap'n, we're running low on food and supplies what's your plan?" Gibbs asked Jack the next day.
Jack sighed. "Violet and I talked about that… I told her we'd try to earn it instead of stealin' it…"
"Why the bloody hell did you do that!" Gibbs exclaimed.
"Well… you know Violet…" Jack said regretfully. "'ow could I say no? She 'ates dishonesty an' all."
"Cap'n, with all due respect, I have to bring this to your attention." Gibbs told him. "But you're a pirate. Born to be a dishonest man! Violet's a nice girl, but she can't change who you are. You're a real scalawag, Jack, you'd best warn the young missy of it."
"I know, Gibbs, but"
"The crew won't go along with this honest plan you know that." Gibbs pointed out.
"Aye, aye…" Jack replied doggedly.
"So what's your piracy plan?" Gibbs asked.
Jack thought for a moment. He sighed. "Set a course for Ricco Isle. We'll sack the town. Plunder the valuables, raid the food supplies."
"Better tell your girl." Gibbs told him.
"Aye…" Jack replied.
"Tell me what?" Violet asked, coming up behind him. He jumped in surprise.
"Oh, 'ey, sweetheart…" he said uneasily. "Erm, let's go to the dining room to talk, savvy?"
"Sure." she replied sweetly. Oh, what he would give not to have to tell her… They entered the dining room and he shut the door behind them.
"Er… Gibbs an' I were talkin' about our food supply…" he began.
"Oh, I'm so glad you decided to be honest." Violet told him.
He sighed and turned away from her. "Don' make this any 'arder than it is, darling…"
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"Alrigh', I'm jus' goin' to say it." he stated. "There's no way we can do this the honest way… Walsh stole my treasure, as you know, so we can't jus' buy what we need, an' there's no way the crew will go along with this. We're pirates, love, it's jus' the way things are." He turned back to her; she wasn't showing any emotion. "So, we've decided to go to Ricco Isle and sack the town. We'll plunder all the valuables and raid the food supplies. An' I'm sorry, but a pirate's a pirate." He was rambling and he knew it, but he didn't want to let her answer until he'd said everything possible. "I mean, if you think about it, we're stealing from the government. An'… wha's the government ever done for you?" She didn't reply. "I make it a point not to steal from innocent people. Jus' rich ones… an' the government…"
"Well… if it's the only way…" Violet said meekly. She looked at him and smiled falsely.
"No, Let, it really is the only way."
"…Why did you say otherwise?" she asked.
"Because I want you to smile." he told her. "I want you to be 'appy. It breaks me 'eart when you look sad."
She thought for a moment. "I'm not really sure I deserve you, Jack you're so selfless."
"Oh, sweetheart, don'"
"I love you, Jack. Nothing can change that." she told him, taking his hand. "I'm going to accept whatever you do. You are who you are and I'm not going to try and change you. …Except the drinking. That really is bad."
"I'll work on it." he told her. "But it's not goin' to be easy."
"Just try." she stated. "Try for me." He nodded.
The next day, they docked in the town. Jack had mustered the whole crew on deck for mission briefing.
"Jack, I don't think I'm going to be of much use…" Violet told him, as they waited for everyone to congregate.
"Don' worry, love, jus' stay 'ere." he told her. "An' again… we 'ave to do this…"
"I know it's fine."
"Jus', er, stay in your room an' read a nice book or something'." he told her. "Like Shakespeare. You won' be completely alone Anamaria will be up on deck, manning the helm so we can leave right when we get back."
"That's fine." she replied. "I'm used to just… drowning out the world…"
"What do you mean by that?" he asked.
"It's all I did when I lived with my parents. Just drowned the world out… It was nice…"
He looked at her with pity. "You don' need to do that now there's nothin' bad 'ere, darling." She nodded. "An' when I get back, you can paint somethin' for me if you want to." He put his forehead to hers. "'ave a big kiss waitin' for me when I get back, savvy?" He hugged her and she hugged him back.
"…Be careful…" He nodded and she went down to her room. She'd finished Romeo and Juliet and had started on Macbeth. She picked up the book and lied down on her bed and stared at it's cover. She placed it on the bedside table and turned over on her stomach. She drifted off to sleep.
She opened her eyes and stood up. She went up on deck, looking for Jack. It was dark. She couldn't see anything past the ship. There were torches lighting the ship itself but there was no moon, so it was like there was no outside world.
'I slept too long…' she thought. 'Why didn't Jack wake me up?' She looked around.
"Jack!" she called. She looked up at the helm. "Anamaria!" Suddenly, someone pushed her from behind and she fell over on her face. She yelled in surprise. She scrambled back on her feet and looked around; she saw no one. She started to get nervous and decided to go back downstairs.
The halls were totally empty and no one was answering when she called out. Just before she reached the end of the hall, she heard laughing. She looked around frantically, but saw no one. Suddenly, unseen people started shoving her into walls. She screamed for help, but no one came. Try as she might, she couldn't see anyone at all…
Laughter, laughter, relentlessly cruel laughter…
Finally, it ceased. She fell to the floor, stunned for a moment. She looked out through teary eyes and saw no one. She jumped up, ran to Jack's door, flung it open, hurried inside, and shut the door behind her.
"Jack, are you" She turned around and saw Jack being pinned to the wall by… her parents… "What the…?" Violet mumbled.
"Violet, late as usual." her mother said coldly.
"So, you're a bigger slut than you used to be, are you?" her father asked. She was speechless with shock. "Townsend and now Sparrow? You're really spreading it around."
"Townsend wasn't my fault!" Violet cried. "I told you! I didn't want to!"
"Townsend said otherwise." her mother stated.
"You'd believe Townsend over your own daughter?" Violet asked, hurt.
"You used to lie about everything, Violet." her father told her.
"No!" I never lied to you!" Violet pressed.
"You were always lying and sneaking around behind our backs!" her mother cried. "You weren't 'learning how to read with Mrs. Clak! You were probably off with some boy!"
"No! I was reading!" Violet exclaimed. "You wouldn't teach me and I was already thirteen!"
"You're a chronic liar, Violet." her mother told her. "Anyway, we're here because we won't tolerate this man you're seeing. So we're going to kill him."
"WHAT! NO!" Violet screamed.
"Stay away from him." her father ordered. Violet took a step forward. "Warned you." Her father took out a sword and held it to Jack's throat.
"If you care about me, Violet, you'll let me live." Jack told her.
"Oh, I do care about you, Jack!" she cried. "Please, just let me touch him!" She took another step forward.
"Wrong move, Violet." her father said, and slit Jack's throat. They let him go and he fell to the floor. Violet screamed and ran to him. "We'll never leave you alone now. Leave him or we'll really kill him."
She woke up, gasping loudly. She looked around frantically, sitting up. Just then, there was a knock on the door. Violet cleared her throat.
"Come in!" she called. Jack opened the door and entered the room.
"'ey, darling." he greeted, shutting the door behind him. He sat down next to her on the bed.
"You, erm, you're finished already?" she asked.
"Took us a while, sweetheart, you fall asleep?" he asked, putting an arm around her waist. She nodded. He put his other arm around her and nuzzled her cheek. "So, where's that big kiss I've been waitin' for all day, huh?" The dream still plagued her. She wanted to return the affection she really did, but… she didn't want her parents to come back like they said they would… He kissed the corner of her mouth and she pulled her head away from him. "You're killin' me, love." he said with a smirk, trying to kiss her.
"Jack, don't…"
"Come on, Let…"
"Jack"
"Let…"
"No, stop! I don't want to!" she yelled, breaking free from his grasp; she jumped up.
He looked at her. "I-I'm sorry, sweetheart, I… thought you were jokin'…" She avoided his eyes. She didn't want her parents to come back and she didn't want them to kill Jack… "Erm… I'll jus'… leave you alone, then…" He stood up and started to the door. He started to reach out for her hand, but changed his mind. "Nigh', darling." he bid and left her room.
Violet changed into her nightgown and flopped down onto her bed. What was she going to do? She buried herself in the covers and worried herself to sleep hours later.
Violet woke up the next morning and dressed for the day. She went up on deck, to the dining room. Jack was there, eating breakfast; he looked up at her.
"Mornin', love." he greeted with less enthusiasm than usual.
"Good morning…" she replied guiltily. She sat down next to him and placed some food on her plate. She sighed. She had to say something… "Jack, yesterday… it wasn't your fault. I'm… going through some… stuff right now and I… well, I just wanted you to know that it's not your fault or anything."
"It's alrigh', darling, I understand." he told her. "Erm, we're 'eaded for a small town called Mayanport, we'll be there this evening, most likely. We got to stop for repairs."
"Repairs?" Violet asked. "Like what?"
"Nothin' major, jus' a few things we shouldn' ignore." he replied. "We'll only need to be there for a few hours, but we're goin' to dock there for the nigh' anyway." She nodded.
After a few moments of silence, Violet spoke up. "It really wasn't your fault, Jack…" He looked up at her. "I just… keep remembering my parents and… I realize they're dead, but that… that doesn't mean the memories are…" She didn't look at him, just kept cutting her meat. "I've got a lot of problems, Jack… A lot of mental problems."
"Oh, sweetheart, don' say that." Jack told her.
"It's true." she said. "I just want to make sure you know… I mean, I'm not really worth all that much…"
"Don' say that." he scolded. "Tha's a lie. You don' know 'ow much you're worth, love." She sighed and went back to her breakfast.
That night, they'd gotten repairs done and everyone had gone to bed; everyone except Violet. She stood staring out her window, wondering what to do.
'Alright…' she thought, 'I can leave tonight and be rid of my parents forever and Jack will be safe… or… I can… well… evade him for three months until we get to England…' She sighed and made up her mind. There was no way she could stay away from him for three months… She had to leave. Then. That night.
She packed all her things and went up on deck. She looked around for anyone and spotted nobody.
'The gangplank…' she thought. 'Bugger…' The gangplank had been taken up for the night. It was lying next to the mast. She would have to put it in place herself…
She put her bags down and went to the plank. She heaved it up and dragged it over to the edge of the ship. This wasn't going to be easy… She pushed the plank over the side of the ship and used all her strength to keep it from falling into the water. She didn't accomplish this as quietly as she would've liked, unfortunately. She picked up her bags and left the ship. She decided not to look back. She was just going to keep walking. No matter what, just keep walking. Suddenly…
"Violet!" Jack yelled, running up behind her. He grabbed her arm and she stopped. "What are you doin'!"
"Leaving." she replied.
"Why!" he cried.
"Because."
"Look at me." he told her. She dropped her bags and looked at him. "Now, why?"
She sighed. "It was a bad idea… to get involved with me… I can't handle it… I never could do anything right and I never will…"
"That's people from Sunset Villa talking, Violet, not you!" he retorted.
"They were right, then." she stated. "…I needed something in my life, but it's not worth ruining yours."
"What are you talkin' about?"
"Sometimes in life, it gets to the point where words just aren't comforting enough… Like the one person in my life who was ever nice to me… Mrs. Clak… she kept telling me to keep going because things would get better, but… it hurt so much to go on alone."
"Tha's why you're goin' to stay with me!" he pressed.
"No… No, it's bad for you…"
"You think you're bad for me!" he exclaimed. "Look at all the things I've done! Drinkin', lyin', stealin'! I'm bad for you! But… I need you, Let. Don' leave, please."
"I'm poison to your life, Jack! That's all I am!" she cried.
"We can 'elp each other, sweetheart! Give this another chance!" he pressed.
"No, I think I need to go." she said.
"I can't let you." he told her.
"Why?"
"…Because… I love you."
She paused. Tears started to form in her eyes and she turned from him. He placed his hand on her shoulder. She looked back at him angrily.
"Why did you have to say that!" she yelled. "No one's ever said that to me before! Why did you have to say it!"
"Because it's true!" he exclaimed. She fell to her knees and he knelt next to her. She looked up at him desperately.
"I love you, too, Jack! That's the problem!" she cried. She slammed her fist into the ground. "As long as you never said it to me, I could leave! But I can't even do that now! I have to stay!"
"Sweetheart, if you don' want to stay, you don' 'ave to." he reasoned.
"I want to so badly!" she sobbed. "But I can't! But… I have to! I can't but… have to!" She held her head and fell into Jack's arms. "They told me I can't! But I really have to! They won't let me!"
"…Who?" Jack asked worriedly.
"My parents! They came and they told me that I had to leave!"
He looked down at her with the utmost concern. "Darling, I'm worried about you… You were dreamin'… your parents are dead…"
"Well, they were there!" she sobbed. "They said if I stay with you, they'll keep coming back and never leave me alone and then they'll kill you!"
"Violet, you're jus' tired…" he told her. "Your parents are gone for good. Come back to the Pearl and you can catch up on your sleep."
"I'm not tired, Jack!" she cried. "I sleep all the time! Dreams are my escape from life it's all I ever do lately!"
"Fine then, you're not spendin' enough time with me!" he pressed. "Every wakin' moment, sweetheart you're mine from now on." She thought for a moment. "Please, darling! No one loves you as much as I do!" He kissed her gently. She stared at him. After a moment, she responded.
"Alright…" she agreed wearily, sniffling. "Alright, fine… but if they don't go away, I'm leaving."
"Fine." Jack replied. "Make you a promise. If they ever come to you no matter when, any time o' the day or night you'll run to me, savvy? If they still don' go away, I'll kill them for you."
She looked up at him hopefully. "You will?" she asked, eyes alight. He nodded. She smiled and hugged him. "Okay, Jack. I trust you. I'll tell them that if they come back. I'll tell them you'll kill them."
"Come on, love." he said, standing up. He took her hand and helped her up. They both grabbed her bags and boarded the Pearl.
They set sail for England the next day and docked three months later at the bearings that they had headed for. It was a small island off the west coast. It was the dead of winter when they docked, so they had to dress very warmly. Jack bundled up and so did Violet, wearing pants and a loose white shirt under an extremely thick coat.
Jack and Violet rowed ashore, Jack carrying the staff. The moment they set foot on the island, the staff sent out a beam of light, pointing them north. They followed it and came to a shallow snow blanketed valley with a large rock in the center of it. There was a stone-lined trail leading to the rock. They exchanged glances it seemed so simple. They shrugged and made their way down the trail, over to the rock. There were numbers carved into it.
"More bearings." Jack mumbled. He repeated them over and over again in his head and memorized them. "Alrigh', well, let's 'ead back to the Pearl I'm freezin'!"
Suddenly, the ground began to move… No, not the ground… There was something buried under the snow… People… Or… zombies… stood up from under the snow and shuffled toward them.
"What the!" Jack exclaimed, pulling out his sword. The zombies moaned and headed for them. Violet took out two of her pistols and held them up. Jack charged into the group and cut off several limbs of the zombies, but it didn't faze them. Finally, he beheaded one and realized that was the key. "The 'eads, Let, go for the 'eads!"
"R-right!" she stuttered. She aimed carefully and hit two of them in the head. She fired off the rest of her shots and Jack was beheading like crazy, but still more came. They were able to make their way through the zombies unscathed, running at top speed. Suddenly, Violet slipped and fell over backward. Turned out they were running on a frozen pond. The ice cracked and Violet nearly fell into the water. The back of her coat got soaked; Jack pulled her up as quickly as he could.
"Take the coat off!" he warned. "Hurry!"
"Wh-what!"
"Jus' do it!" he pressed. She obeyed and took the coat off and dropped it on the ground. "You can't let yourself get wet you'll freeze. 'ere." He took off his own coat and handed it to her. She reluctantly put it on.
"Jack, what are you going to wear?" she asked.
"That doesn' matter now let's just keep goin'." he said. Just then, as luck would have it, it started snowing. "Oh, no…" And it started snowing harder. "Oh, no…"
"We have to find a cave or something." Violet said.
Jack nodded and they continued on their way. They finally spotted a cave and took refuge in it. He pushed some rocks over to the cave entrance to block out the wind and any zombies that might wander over. They sat down, breathing heavily.
"Jack…" Violet started, worried, "your lips are purple…"
"I'm f-f-fine, sweetheart…" he replied, teeth chattering.
"No you're not." she told him. "We've got to find a way to share this coat."
"It's alrigh', d-darling."
She shook her head. "No, there's got to be some way."
He thought for a moment. "Th-the only way is if if you… well, you you'd 'ave to sit on top o' me an' st-stretch the c-coat around us…"
"That's fine I don't want you to freeze!" she panicked.
He leaned up against the wall and she sat on top of him, pulling the coat around them both. She slipped her arms out of the sleeves and wrapped them around him so he pinned the sleeves to the wall, keeping the coat around them. They put their arms around each other and held on tightly. She looked at him worriedly and kissed him.
"I don't want your lips to be purple." she told him. She put her hand over his mouth. He smiled and hugged her tighter.
About an hour later, they heard voices…
"It's Will and Gibbs!" Jack exclaimed. " Let's go!" They got up and went to the mouth of the cave. Jack shoved the rocks aside and they spotted Will and Gibbs. The snow had let up. "'EY! OVER 'ERE!" They saw Jack and Violet and hurried to them.
"Jack, where's your coat?" Will asked, a little panicked.
"Long story, mate." Jack replied. "Come on, let's get back to the Pearl."
They returned to the ship just as Jack lost all his energy. They took him to his room and he got into bed; they piled blankets on top of him. He insisted he was fine, but needed rest, so they left him to sleep, but Violet stayed.
"Are you sure you're alright, Jack?" she asked worriedly.
"Aye, love, I'm alrigh'." he replied, still shivering.
"Good… I was really scared…"
"Well, everythin's fine now, sweetheart nothin' to worry about." he said. She nodded and lied down next to him on top of all the blanket layers. She put her arm over him.
"I love you, Jack…" she told him.
"I love you, too, Violet." he replied and they both drifted off to sleep.
Aww. Cuteness.
Okay, anyway, several people have pointed out how the first chapter is really inaccurate because of the art gallery thing. I want to say that I really just had to get the idea out somehow, and it HAD to be done that way - at some sort of job thingy. My friend suggested that perhaps I could change it to her working at a theater doing costumes or something like that because it HAS to be a job. Several situations (like the gallery thing) are based on stuff that happened to me that I was mad about and had to exert somehow. I vent my life in my fanfics, so yeah. Anyway, what happened in real life didnt happen about an art gallery but was equally as frustrating. But yes, so I would much appreciate any suggestions for me possibly changing it. (The rest of this is in regards to La Sorelli's review) Secondly,I did describe Violet's character in the first sentance. Yes, I did. One of my writerfriends suggested I do it because she thought it would be good to know exactly what the character looks like and get a clear picture of her before we go off adventuring with her. Just an idea I thought I'd try. Thirdly, the hostage thing. Not all the people there even know who the heck she is. A lot of people live uptown and are really rich, so they couldn't be sure whether this was a poor girl or the daughter of someone who could eat those gems for breakfast they are so rich. So that's that sorted out. Fourthly (is that a word?), about Violet's character. I wanted to make absolute SURE that she was timid and shy and quiet. I was aiming to show how anyone can build a life for themselves and be someone. Because of her past, Violet can't possibly be any other way. We find more out about her tragic past in later chapters (I think it's in the next one, actually!). The character is based on, well, because I base some of this fic after stuff that happens in my life, it's pretty much based on me when I've got no one to talk to... like in math class! Well, not anymore cuz I got moved to a table with a bunch of very nice people who are cool! But I am seriously digressing. Sorry about that. Anyway, it's like... the person who struggles to stand up for themselves... I don't exactly know how to explain it. We'll see more about what Violet makes of herself and the problems she has to sort through to get there later.
Thanks to EVERYONE who reviewed! I always appriciate any feedback! As long as it's nice/constructive! Thanks, guys!
PLEASE REVIEW!
