A/N: Wow, it's been a while! I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get another chapter out, I've been pretty busy with another fanfiction competition. Anyway, I hope you enjoy, I've loved being able to get back to this story. Pirates of the Caribbean is my first love. :)
"Cutler Beckett."
Jack spat the name into the air, letting the words hang above their heads. A chill slipped down Violet's spine at the name. She hated Cutler Beckett more than anything else in the seven seas.
"Yes, he signed them," Elizabeth said, holding out the letters of marque with a matter-of-fact expression, and Jack suddenly turned to Violet, raising an eyebrow.
"It would seem that Will was working for Beckett this whole time, and never said a thing. As I recall, you were with him when we met you on that island, weren't you?" he asked, and Violet raised her hands.
"I swear to you I was not working for Cutler Beckett," she said, but Jack and Gibbs, who had joined them, looking unconvinced. "William told me that Beckett had warrants for our arrest, and he needed to find you in order to save Elizabeth. The poor boy was completely lost, there's no way he would have survived without me."
"So you accompanied the boy to steal my compass?" Jack asked, and Violet sighed heavily.
"Of course not. I only wanted to help Elizabeth-"
"By stealing my compass."
"Well- perhaps. But I wouldn't have gone back to Beckett. I'd rather die," Violet said defiantly, and Jack gave her a look.
"Well, it matters not. Evidently, Beckett wants the chest." Jack sauntered across the boat, and Elizabeth folded her arms behind him.
"Yes, he did say something about a chest."
"I'm sure he did." Violet stared out at the sea. If Cutler Beckett had gotten a hold of that chest, God help them all. "We're all damned if he gets it, too."
"Jack. I want the letters back," Elizabeth said decidedly, and Jack frowned.
"No. Persuade me." Grinning, he began to walk up to Elizabeth, who rolled her eyes.
"You do know Will taught me how to handle a sword." A sly smile crossed both of their faces, and suddenly Violet was filled with a sick, burning feeling that made her insides tighten. Why were they looking at each other like that? Better yet, why was Jack looking at her like that?
"As I said. Persuade me." Jack raised an eyebrow, and Elizabeth gave him a quick smile before turning away and walking across the deck. Violet gave the captain a sour look, who only widened his grin.
"Oh, don't be jealous, darling, it's not becoming on you." He stepped closer to her, and she quickly wiped the expression off her face, forcing a nonchalant smile.
"Jealous? Me? Never." She flashed her teeth at him, and Jack slowly shook his head.
"Still in denial?"
"About what?" Her voice was casual, but her heart did a little flip.
"About how much you adore me." His voice was low now, and it sent a shiver down Violet's spine. Quickly, though, she straightened up and turned away.
"I have a general appreciation for you, Jack Sparrow, and that is all." She walked to the railing, her eyes on the choppy waves.
"How long must we keep doing this?" Violet nearly jumped at the sound of Jack's voice, low and next to her ear, standing directly behind her.
"Doing what?"
"Pretending that you're not desperately in love with me."
So this was it. They were finally going to talk about it. About whatever the hell was going on between the two of them. And to be honest, Violet wasn't ready. At all.
"What were you going to say that day? The day we were at the gallows?" She turned to face him, and Jack's tanned face passed through several indistinguishable emotions.
"I don't think it's too complicated to figure out, love." His eyes flashed, and Violet shook her head, refusing to let herself break her stare.
"I want to hear you say it," she said softly, and Jack laughed, giving her a look.
"Why don't you say it first?"
"I can't, Jack." Her voice broke, and she pressed a hand to the railing to steady herself. "Do you remember what happened three years ago?"
"Love, I've told you, I'm sorry-"
"You sold me out to Beckett. For some money, Jack, for a few coins! One minute I was asleep on the ship and the next I was in jail, arms tied behind me. I got out of there at the last second before I was executed. You sold me to my death. And when I finally found you again, on my ship, I didn't come alone, if you'll recall. That's the only way I was able to get rid of you for good." Jack didn't speak, only turned his piercing eyes on Violet as she spat her words out into the air.
"I'm sorry."
"Oh, but don't think Beckett let me go without a parting gift." Gingerly, Violet lifted up the hem of her shirt to reveal a red 'P' branded on the side of her torso. Jack sucked in a breath, and Violet let her shirt drop. She'd never shown that mark to anyone.
"That bastard is dead," Jack snarled, his eyes angry as she'd never seen them before. But she didn't care. His words were no good now.
"And then I saw you again on Tortuga and it's like all my sense just- left me. And here I am, following you around like a child. Norrington was right. I am just a lost puppy." She blinked furiously, trying to send the tears from her eyes. She hated this. Hated it with all her heart.
"I know I'll never be able to win you back from that, and it kills me." Jack's gaze burned into Violet's eyes, and she looked away. "But I-"
"Don't. Don't do that. You'll destroy everything." She suddenly grabbed Jack's arm, and he froze.
"I thought you wanted-"
"I don't. I can't. Because if you do, then nothing will ever be the same. Pirates can't have ties like this, Jack. You know that. It compromises everything." Tears pricked Violet's eyes, but she forced them back.
"Love, you know I only meant to-"
"Please, Jack, just go. I can't- I can't do this anymore." She didn't look at Jack, didn't want to see the hurt in his eyes. Something was severed, now, between them. One way or another, she was going to have to choose whether or not she wanted Jack Sparrow in her life.
"Land ho!" It was at that moment that Gibbs shouted across the ship, startling them both. Sure enough, there it was- a long stretch of sandy beach that no doubt held the chest they sought. Without looking at each other, Jack and Violet walked across the deck towards the longboats. Now was not the time for petty drama. Not when they had a pirate captain's heart to find.
Norrington, Jack, and Violet all stood behind Elizabeth on the beach, following her as she followed the compass' direction. Slowly, she came to a stop in front of a flat patch of sand and began to walk in circles.
"This doesn't work." Elizabeth fell to sit in the sand, glaring furiously at the compass. Suddenly, Violet held out a hand.
"I'll take it." Elizabeth looked up at her inquisitively, but handed the instrument to Violet. Slowly, the captain opened the lid and let the needle spin around. The chest, she willed herself to think. That's what I want most. The chest. She bit her lip until the needle passed Jack, and she let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. Finally, it settled to a stop underneath Elizabeth.
"It's buried!" Violet said triumphantly, pointing to the sand. "We need to start digging."
"Take a shovel, then." Violet looked up just in time to catch the shovel Norrington threw at her. "I can't be expected to dig all on my own, now can I?"
"Oh, I'm so sorry, Commodore. Let me help you," she crooned before firmly planting the tip of her shovel into the sand. This was going to take awhile.
It was a full twenty minutes before Norrington finally hit something solid, the thwack of the shovel probably the most satisfying sound Violet had ever heard. From the side of the growing hole they were submerged in, Jack sat on the sand, being a lazy git as usual.
"Finally! I was about to throw this damned shovel at your head, Charles," Norrington said as the two of them crouched down to brush the rest of the sand off of the object. It was a chest, all right, wooden and locked tightly, but bigger than Violet had imagined.
"This is a bit big for a heart, wouldn't you say?" Violet grunted as she heaved the chest from the sand with the help of Norrington, placing it on the lip of the sandpit.
"Oh, don't be stupid, Charles. There's not an actual heart in this. It's obviously metaphorical." Norrington stuck his nose up haughtily as Jack cruised over to the pair, armed with a shovel of his own. Swiftly, the captain snapped the lock on the larger box and Norrington flipped the lid off eagerly, revealing another chest underneath. Delicately, Jack removed the smaller chest and put it up to his ear.
Thump-thump. Thump-thump.
"It's real," Elizabeth breathed, and Violet stared at the chest with wide eyes.
"Of course it's real," Jack said bitterly. "I don't always lie, you know."
"Are you certain?"
The four had barely turned around at the familiar voice when Elizabeth took off running towards the approaching figure.
"Will! You're alright, thank God!" Elizabeth ran into his arms, kissing him deeply, and Violet felt any hint of a smile slip from her face, replaced by a crashing wave of guilt. William Turner was going to murder them.
"How did you get here?" Jack asked immediately, and Will pulled away from Elizabeth in time to give him a half-smirk.
"Sea turtles, mate. A pair of 'em, strapped to my feet."
"Not so easy, is it?"
"But I do owe you thanks, Jack." Will stepped closer to Jack, his eyes dark and brooding.
"You do?" Jack raised an eyebrow, and Will nodded.
"After you tricked me onto that ship, to square your debt with Jones-"
"What?" Elizabeth shrieked. There it was, out in the open. Violet had forgotten about Elizabeth, who would probably also kill her. It would be a double murder.
"What?" Jack said innocently, and Will shook his head, flashing his teeth in a wicked grin that looked suspiciously pirate-like.
"I was reunited with my father."
"Bootstrap?" Violet asked incredulously. "I thought he was dead."
"Oh, there you are, Violet. I was beginning to worry that you'd finally lost your voice after so many days of going along with whatever Jack decides." Will spat the words at her, accompanying them with a sly smile, and Violet bit her tongue to keep the guilt away.
"Everything you've said to me, every word was a lie!" Elizabeth screamed at Jack, anger on her face, before turning to Violet. "And you. I'd expect this from Jack, but never from you. How could you?"
"I'm sorry, Elizabeth. Really, I am. But it's the pirate life. Betrayal is just another tool of the trade, and I'm sure you'll experience it again before your time on the sea is done." Violet narrowed her eyes at the woman, who'd she'd once ventured to call a friend, hating herself with every minute. But this is how it would have to be. Friends and lovers aren't allowed on the open ocean. She knew about betrayal better than anyone else, didn't she?