A/N: Sorry for the long wait! I've been working on other stories. :)
Violet sat in the rowboat next to Will, making sure to be on the boat that did not contain Jack. She had finally been able to change into her familiar clothes, her cutlass once again sheathed in her belt, but Jack's hat sat next to her on the bench. She wasn't sure if she was ready to put it on. For all that would mean. If it would mean anything at all.
"Why is Jack afraid of the open ocean?" demanded Will, and Violet laughed, causing him to turn to her with a confused look.
"Why is Jack afraid of the open ocean," she mimicked, shooting an acid-filled glare over at Jack in the other boat. Their seemingly jovial conversation had ended in a fight the previous night, with Jack yelling at her for 'making no sense' and her yelling at him for being a 'bloody idiot who only cares about saving his own ass'. It wasn't pretty, and the two weren't speaking to each other. "Because he's a coward. Afraid of Davy Jones' little pet, I'd reckon."
"And what's that?" Will asked her, and she lowered her voice mockingly.
"A terrible beast with giant tentacles that'll suck your skin off and crush you to pieces in minutes," she said, waving her fingers around, and Barbossa's pirates, whose names she had learned were Pintel and Ragetti, looked at each other in fear. "And because of Jack's idiocy, it's next target probably happens to be the good captain himself."
"How would you know that?" Gibbs asked her, and she rolled her eyes.
"Jack is easy to predict," she said matter-of-factly, and Will smiled, leaning towards her.
"Is he, now?" he asked teasingly, and she gave him a dark glare.
"It's not the time, Will," she said wearily, and Will's grin fell off his face. He gave her a concerned look, opening his mouth to say more, before quickly closing it and leaning back in the boat. "Where are we going, anyway?"
They were gliding down a dark river, trees and plants lining either side as they made their way further and further into the swamp.
"To visit her," Gibbs said mysteriously, and Violet bit her lip. There were many 'hers' Gibbs could be referring to, and Violet wasn't necessarily sure she wanted to know which one.
Suddenly, the boat bumped up against dry land, at the foot of a bedraggled looking hut. It was at that moment that Violet knew exactly which 'her' they were referring to.
"Is that jealousy I'm picking up, Captain?"
Violet paused midway out of the boat, turning to glare at Jack, who had an equally malicious expression on his face.
"The only thing I'm jealous of is Elizabeth Swann, actually. For one thing, she's far away from this disgusting place that we've found ourselves in. Oh, and you, which I'm sure she's glad for. Also, she's got her hands on that beautiful being over there," Violet quipped, pointing at Will with a smirk on her face. Jack's face darkened, and Will gave Violet a confused look.
"Where did that come from?" Jack spat, and Violet waved a hand, flashing a grin at Will.
"Who's jealous now?" she sneered, and Jack hissed, turning away from her and stomping up the steps to the small hut.
Will looked at Violet questioningly, but she waved him away, the grin slipping from her mouth as soon as Jack turned away. She didn't know why the two of them were like this. Will had been right. One minute she never wanted to leave him, and the next she wanted to push him into the ocean. But still, her heart clenched as she looked at his retreating form, and she couldn't push away the urge to wrap her arms around him and never let him go.
Slowly, she followed the rest of the pirates up the steps to the small hut, taking in the dismal setting of the dark swamp. The stairs creaked as she walked up them, wrinkling her nose at the humid air.
"You're doing it again," Will whispered from behind her as she opened the door and she turned back to him with a sharp look.
"Doing what?" she hissed, and Will shrugged.
"The thing with Jack," he clarified, and Violet shot him daggers with her eyes as she pushed open the door and shuffled into the hut.
The inside was even worse than the outside, lined with strange objects and lit with a dim glow that caught all the dirty corners of the hut. Violet could have sworn she saw something move in one of the jars.
And suddenly, she realized exactly who this was. She'd only heard of her in stories passed by drunken sailors, but the jars of animal parts gave it away. They could be human, actually, she really wasn't sure.
"Damn it, Sparrow! Why in the world did you bring us to her?" she demanded, and Jack gave her a mocking smile, obviously happy to have something that annoyed her.
"Oh, I'm sorry, love, is this not to your liking?" he said, stalking over to her, "Because if not, you're welcome to-"
"Jack Sparrow."
Both Violet and Jack turned to see a woman emerge from the shadows of the hut, a crooked grin on her face. She had long dreadlocks that cascaded down to her shoulders, and dress that seemed to be made of several scraps of fabric. And Violet knew exactly who she was, and that sent shivers down her spine.
"Tia Dalma," Jack crooned, opening his arms and pasting as mile onto his face. Violet folded her arms, glaring at the woman. Something about her rubbed Violet the wrong way.
"I always knowed the wind was going to blow you back to me one day," Tia Dalma said sweetly, sauntering over to Jack, and something cold filled Violet's heart as the two of them stared at each other. She wanted to throw herself in between Jack and Tia Dalma, pushing the woman away and claiming Jack for her own. But instead, she dug her fingernails into her palm and stayed in her corner of the room, breathing heavily.
Tia Dalma suddenly caught sight of Will, tilting her head.
"You have a touch a' destiny about you, William Turner," she said, and Will shifted his weight between his feet, looking very uncomfortable. "How about you and I-"
"Alright, Miss Dalma, I'm going to have to stop you right there," Violet found herself saying, and she pushed her way over next to Will. "I'm afraid young William here is already promised to a certain young lady, and I'm also sure you wouldn't want anything to do with him, when he's but a child."
Tia Dalma turned to her as Will hid behind her gratefully, brilliant with a sword but not when it came to women.
"Ah, hello, Violet," the woman said with a smile, looking between her and Jack. "I see you're back together with your ol' friend, aren't you, Jack."
"I wouldn't say that," Jack muttered from across the room, and Violet shot him a glare as Tia Dalma stared at her thoughtfully.
"Hmmm," Tia Dalma said with a glint in her eye. "If you say so."
Violet narrowed her eyes at the woman, who was giving her a big gap-toothed grin.
"But I see trouble in your future, Miss Coldblood," Tia Dalma said cautiously, and Violet looked at her, intrigued. "So ya might want to fix whatever you've got going on here…" The woman gestured between her and Jack again, and Violet sighed loudly, waving a hand.
"Listen, I'm sure you mean well, but we didn't come here for relationship advice. Instead, how about you help us, so we can leave this damned swamp and maybe-"
"What Violet means to say is that we've come for help, and we've brought payment," Jack said, cutting in the middle of Violet's speech, and she crossed her arms angrily. She hated this place.
"I didn't mean that at all," she spat, and Tia Dalma chuckled to herself, sauntering over to the back of her hut.
"Well, what payment did ya bring us?" she drawled, and Jack beckoned for a large cage to be brought forth, containing that cursed monkey that was always running around destroying things. He pulled a gun from his belt and shot it a couple times, smiling all the while.
"See? An undead monkey. I'd reckon that's the best payment you've received yet," he said proudly, and Tia Dalma opened the door, sending the monkey sprinting out into the darkness of the hut.
"No!" Gibbs said, wincing and putting a hand to his forehead. "You've no idea how long it took us to catch that."
"We're looking for this-" Will said, pulling out the drawing Jack had given him and flattening it against the desk. "And what it goes to."
"The compass you bartered from me, it cannot lead you to this?" Tia Dalma asked Jack, who shifted uncomfortably. Violet had forgotten about that blasted compass, but at the reminder, she was furious at Jack for not using it.
"Maybe. Why?" Jack muttered, and Tia Dalma grinned at him.
" Aah. Jack Sparrow does not know what he wants. Or do you know but are loath to claim it as your own. Your key go to a chest. And it is what lay inside the chest you seek. Don't it?" she asked him softly, and suddenly Jack looked at Violet, his features twisted in an emotion Violet couldn't recognize.
Behind her, pirates clamored over what could be inside it, throwing out their stupid guesses and suggestions, but Violet was trying to process Tia Dalma's words. If Jack didn't want whatever was in that chest, then what did he want?
"You know of Davy Jones, yes?" asked Tia Dalma, and the crew nodded. "A man of the sea. A great sailor. Until he run afoul of that which vex all men."
"What vexes all men?" Will asked naively, and Tia Dalma gave him a sickening smile.
"What indeed?" she crooned, and the pirates began to throw out their guesses again, every word sliding a little farther under Violet's skin.
"A woman!" she shouted finally, silencing all the pirates, and everyone turned to stare at her, concerned expressions on each face. "It's a woman, isn't it?"
"Very good, Captain," Tia Dalma said with a smile. "He fell in love."
"Mistake on his part," Violet said coldly, staring at the ground. "Love ruins everything."
"Some may say that," Tia Dalma continued, "but he never stopped loving her. And that pain caused by his love made him unable to live any longer."
"So what's in the chest?" Will asked, and Tia Dalma gave him a sharp look.
"Him heart," she said coldly, and the pirates looked at each other, confused.
"How?" Pintel asked, shaking his head. "He couldn't live, putting his heart in a chest. Could he?"
"It was not worth feeling what small, fleeting joy life brings. And so, him carved out him heart, lock it down in a chest, and hide the chest from the world. The key he keep with him at all times," Tia Dalma said quietly.
"You knew this," Will demanded, turning to Jack, who shook his head.
"I did not. I didn't know where the key was. But now we do. So, all that's left is to climb aboard the Flying Dutchman, grab the key, you go back to Port Royal and take the good Captain with you, and save your bonnie lass, aye?" Jack said liltingly, but Will just shook his head.
"Let me see your hand," Tia Dalma demanded, and Jack's smile dropped from his face. He held out his good, non-bandaged hand, but Tia Dalma just shook her head, and he held out his other one reluctantly.
Violet sucked in a breath, staring at the large black spot across his palm.
"Damn it, Sparrow, I should have known you'd be stupid enough to make a bargain with the devil of the sea," she hissed, and Jack snatched his hand back, turning on her.
"Let's not have this discussion now, shall we?" he spat, and she rolled her eyes, turning away from him.
"Davy Jones cannot make port. Cannot step on land but once every ten years. Land is where you will be safe, Jack Sparrow, and so you will carry land with you," said Tia Dalma, interrupting the two of them, and she dug around in a corner, coming back up with a large jar of what looked like dirt.
"A jar of dirt? Are you joking?" Violet demanded, and Tia Dalma gave her a haughty look.
"It's not for you, Charles. And if you don't want it-" she said tauntingly, but Jack snatched it from her hands and held it close to him.
"No, thank you ever so much, love, I'll keep it safe and away from children," he said, throwing a dark look at Violet, who scowled.
"It seems we have a need to find the Flying Dutchman," Will said, and Violet shook her head, staring at him. Of all places, here they were, on their way to the ghost ship of the Caribbean. What had she gotten herself into?