A/N: This is the longest chapter yet! I hope you all are doing well :)
Violet heaved herself up onto the deck of the Empress, coughing and spluttering as she purged the salty ocean water from her lungs. It had felt like pushing through sand as she'd made the long swim to the ship, and it didn't help that the Singaporean crew had already started to crew the ship away from the Dutchman while she flailed against the waves.
As she stumbled to her feet, her clothes soaked and dripping onto the wood below, the deck was bustling with activity, and every pirate who knew how to sail was doing so, guiding the ship further and further away from the Dutchman until Violet could barely see it on the dark horizon.
"Violet! Oh, I can't- I'm so-" Elizabeth threw her arms around the soaking pirate, and Violet smiled at her, wrapping her own arms around her friend. "You saved him. I can't believe it," Elizabeth whispered against her wet hair, and Violet pulled back, grinning at her.
"Well, I wasn't going to let him die without a proper apology for all the times he's been an utter nuisance, was I?" She was about to launch into a tirade about Norrington's antics when the man in question walked towards her, abandoning his post now that the ship was on a smooth course to who knows where.
"Why did you do it?" Norrington's expression was unreadable, his eyes burning with something much stronger than the moonlight. "Why would you save me when you had every reason to let me die?"
Violet didn't reply for a moment, her pointed gaze fixed on Norrington. Why had she done it? How could she answer that, when she barely knew the answer herself?
"You once asked Elizabeth Swann to marry you," she said finally, every word circling three times over through her mind, "and I hated you for it, I cursed you and your selfish, stuck-up little ways. In all honesty, I still do."
She paused, stepping closer to Norrington. There were tears in his eyes, she realized, the starlight glinting off of them, and it was then that she knew that this man had never known true freedom.
"But there's more to you, Norrington, more than either of us really understand, I think. I knew it from the moment you let go of Elizabeth, the moment you asked to join the crew of the Black Pearl, the moment our blades crossed on that island." Violet sighed heavily, raising her chin to stare into Norrington's shining eyes. "I don't like you, Norrington, I don't know if I ever will, but there's a pirate in you, and I'd be remiss if I didn't make you a part of my crew."
Norrington was silent for a moment, his eyes locked on hers, and then, suddenly, he stepped towards her, enveloping her in a crushing embrace, and Violet froze, her fingers brushing against his sea-soaked jacket.
"Thank you," he said, pulling away and breathing heavily, shaking his head. "You are the last person I'd ever thought I'd saying this to, but I'm indebted to you."
"I'm not very fond of debts," Violet said, still a little flustered from his sudden embrace, "but I do have one request." Stepping forward, she grabbed a curl of his sopping white wig and pulled it off his head, revealing tousled brown locks that spilled out onto his shoulders. Grinning, she tossed the wig over the side of the ship, watching it bob in the choppy waves. "Good riddance."
"Captain!" Tai Huang was at their side now, accompanied by some of his crewmates, looking equally soaked by their earlier swim. "What's our heading?" He was looking at Elizabeth, Violet realized, at she beamed at the very notion of it. Miss Swann, a pirate captain.
"Well, if Violet agrees, I believe we should make our way to Shipwreck Cove." Even as she spoke, a sort of captainly air seemed to come over Elizabeth, and she looked more confident than Violet had ever seen her before. The sea did wonders for Elizabeth Swann. "I seem to have been made a Pirate Lord, and I think it's best for us to regroup with the Pearl." At the mention of the Pearl, Violet and Elizabeth exchanged a look, the two of them recognizing each other's pain in an instant. They both had someone they loved on board that ship.
"I told you, Beckett knows of the meeting of the Brethren Court!" Norrington stepped forward, and just like that, Violet was back to being annoyed by everything he did. "If we sail to Shipwreck Cove, there is no guarantee that we'll be safe."
"Shipwreck Cove is a stronghold, Norrington. I think we'll be fine." Violet gave him a sweet smile as Elizabeth shook her head, obviously disappointed that they'd fallen back into their old antics. "Or are you still afraid of Beckett?"
"Of course not," he said with a sarcastic grin, "but I'm not exactly fond of being shot at by the British navy."
"Shipwreck Cove it is, then!" Violet crowed, throwing an arm around Elizabeth's shoulders. "Pirate Lord Swann needs to arrive in time for the meeting of the Brethren, after all."
The journey to Shipwreck Cove was, unfortunately, longer than Violet had anticipated. Tai Huang and the Singaporean crew had assured Violet and Elizabeth than they knew the way, but it quickly became clear that they would arrive late to the meeting of the Brethren, and the sky was darkening rapidly. Violet was about to give up hope of making it to the Court when suddenly, Tai Huang gave a shout, and she rushed over to the bow of the ship, following the first mate's gaze.
"Holy-" Violet's words caught in her throat as the wide expanse of Shipwreck Cove came into view, the sight taking her breath away. Thousands of ships appeared to be stacked on top of each other, built up into a sort of massive city-like structure, each dotted with the warm light of a hundred lanterns, flickering through glass windows and signaling life within the ships. "It's beautiful."
"This is your stronghold?" Norrington was beside her now, his voice full of disbelief. "It doesn't seem particularly strong."
"That's exactly what a soldier would say." Tai Huang turned to face Norrington, his arms folded across his chest. "Shipwreck Cove is the safest place on these waters. Nothing is getting through, especially not your little navy."
"Whatever you say," Norrington said, obviously still not thrilled by the teetering structure in front of them, and Violet grinned at Tai Huang. Finally, another person to help her gang up on Norrington, as heaven knows Elizabeth liked him too much to ever back up Violet's side of their arguments.
They weighed anchor in the port in front of the stronghold and made their way through the curving pathways between ships, the long line of pirates twisting through the complicated routes as they followed Tai Huang, who seemed to be the only one them that knew where they were going.
Violet's heart thrummed with each step, and she watched Elizabeth cautiously, watching as the Pirate Lord's expression became more and more worried with every step. She knew what the girl was feeling. Violet was fairly certain she felt the exact same way. Pirates could be unruly, and there was truly no telling if the Brethren would come to an agreement of how to dethrone Beckett.
Also, there was the matter of seeing Jack again, which was twisting her heart into knots just thinking about it. She had missed him fiercely, but every time she thought of him it only brought up all the questions she had about his motivations. Would he even be there, or had he run off in hopes of escaping Jones, and had he made good on his promise to lead Beckett straight to the meeting?
"In here!" Tai Huang's voice interrupted her swirling thoughts, and she followed him and the rest of the crew inside a tall, creaking ship, passing through a hole in the side of it and into a warm, dimly-lit room from which arguing voices poured out of.
"I think this is it." Elizabeth grabbed Violet's hand as they entered the ship, her face pale, and Violet gave her fingers a reassuring squeeze.
"Give them hell, Pirate Lord." Violet grinned at her friend, and Elizabeth's face lightened a bit, her lips attempting a weak smile.
With one last look at Elizabeth, Violet entered into the warm room, and suddenly, she could see them: the Brethren Court, sitting around a long wooden table with their crews standing behind them in a cramped configuration.
"Might I point out that we are still short one pirate lord, and I'm content as a cucumber to wait until Sao Feng joins us." The familiar voice echoed through the crowded room, and Violet froze as her eyes locked onto the speaker, who was standing at the head of the table, leaning on the wood like he owned the place.
"Jack." The word was a whisper, barely audible over the din of the pirates, but it was enough, and Jack Sparrow's head turned almost immediately, the hope clearly visible in his eyes as his gaze fell on her. The room quieted suddenly as he took two determined steps toward her, and in an instant, he had his arms around her, pulling her into a tight embrace. Damn, she'd missed him.
"I thought you were dead, love." His voice was raw and pained, and she laughed at his blatant display of emotion. "I heard about the Dutchman, and I didn't know- I thought-"
"Missed me, did you?" she teased, and Jack grinned at her, his gold teeth catching the light.
"More than you want to know." His face was so daring, so bold, that she leaned forward and kissed him, knowing it was neither the time nor place but not really caring either way. He smiled against her lips, obviously surprised, and deepened the kiss, his hands sliding down her back. She tangled a hand in his hair, ignoring the catcalls and whistles from the other pirates around them, and laced her other arm around his neck. She could kiss him all day like this, she decided, and she didn't want to let him go for the world, for anything, and all she could think about was him, and-
"I hate to interrupt this little display, but where in the seven seas is Sao Feng?" Barbossa's harsh voice cut through the fog in her mind and she quickly pulled away from Jack, running a hand through her tangled hair, as she looked around at the table of grinning pirates. Bloody hell, what was wrong with her, kissing him in the middle of the Brethren meeting? She'd obviously missed him more than she'd thought.
"Ugh, Hector, why do you always have to be such a killjoy?" Jack slung an arm around Violet's waist, pulling her to his side, and Barbossa rolled his eyes as Elizabeth stepped forward.
"Sao Feng is dead." Elizabeth's voice had a cool sort of clarity, and the pirates fell into disarray the second her words were spoken. "He fell to the Flying Dutchman."
"And made you captain?" Jack shook his head in mock disapproval, the rest of the pirates looking on with interest. "They're just giving the bloody title away now."
"Listen," Elizabeth said, obviously irritated with Jack's giddy antics, and Violet elbowed the man at her side, giving him a look. "James had informed us that our location has been betrayed. Jones is under the command of Lord Beckett, they're on their way here."
"James?" Jack stared, incredulous, as Norrington moved awkwardly out of a shadowy corner of the room, slipping between pirates, and the room seemed to collectively hiss at his British uniform. "Pardon my confusion, love, but what the hell is this land-lubber doing here?"
"Your love here was the one who saved my life," Norrington said with a grin, stepping deliberately next to Violet, and Jack's gaze seemed to blacken. "It seems only fair I joined her crew in reparation."
"More importantly," demanded one of the pirate lords, his stare menacing, "who is this betrayer the soldier speaks of?"
"Not likely anyone among us," said Barbossa, his gaze as innocent as a pirate captain can muster, and Violet turned just in time to see a flash of something glint in Jack's eyes. Had Jack actually betrayed the information to Beckett? Her heart ached, and she desperately wanted to ask him, but now was hardly the time.
"Where's Will?" Elizabeth's voice was full of emotion, and Violet realized that indeed, the boy was not in the room. She couldn't say she was upset by this fact, however. Will Turner wasn't exactly her closest friend.
"Not among us," Jack said passively, and the pieces fell into place. Will was their betrayer, wasn't he? It hurt to imagine it, Will helping that monster, but it had to be him. Who else could it be?
"And it matters not how they found us. The question is, what will we do now that they have?" Barbossa was at the head of the table, now, addressing the Court like he was the bloody Pirate King. The table of pirate lords fascinated her, each one a commanding presence, and she couldn't help but wish that she was one of them.
"We fight!" Elizabeth's voice rang out around the room, and the pirates looked suspiciously at her.
"Shipwreck Cove is a fortress, a well-supplied fortress," said the only female pirate at the table aside from Elizabeth. Violet recognized her immediately as Mistress Ching, scourge of the seas, and she couldn't help but feel a little starstruck. She'd grown up on the stories of her adventures. "There is no need to fight if they cannot get to us."
"There is a third course." Barbossa stepped forward, once more enthralling the attention of the Court. "In another age, at this very spot, the first court captured the sea goddess, and bound her in her bones. That was a mistake. Oh, we tamed the seas for ourselves, aye, but opened the door to Beckett and his ilk. Better were the days when mastery of seas came not from bargains struck with eldritch creatures, but from the sweat of a man's brow and the strength of his back alone. You all know this to be true. Gentlemen, ladies. We must free Calypso."
The table erupted into shouts at Barbossa's declaration, calls of 'shoot him!' and 'cut out his tongue!' filling the air, and even Jack was joined in, releasing his grip on Violet to join the fray.
"Now you see why I don't like pirates," Norrington said quietly, and Violet snorted, watching the chaos in front of her. "And what's all this talk of Calypso?"
"She made some deal with Barbossa, I think," Violet said, staring at the man in question, who was quietly observing the brawling in front of them. "I think he assumes that if we release her, she'll help us win back the seas."
"That sounds like a fool's logic," Norrington scoffed, and Violet shrugged.
"You'd be surprised how many times fool's logic has been relied upon by pirates," Violet said.
"That's not surprising to me at all," Norrington said with a grin, and Violet laughed, before remembering that she hated Norrington and quickly stopping herself.
Suddenly, Barbossa was climbing onto the table, and before Violet could make a smart remark, he let off a round of shots into the sky, silencing the brawling pirates. "It was the first court what imprisoned Calypso, and we will be the ones to set her free, and in her gratitude she will see fit to grant us boons."
"Whose boons? Your boons? Utterly deceptive twaddlespeak, says I." Jack was shaking his head solemnly, and Violet tried to hide her smile. Get it together, Coldblood.
"If you have a better alternative, please, share." Barbossa gave Jack a sarcastic smile, obviously exasperated, and Jack grinned at him, turning to Violet and grabbing her by the hand.
"Cuttlefish. Let us not, dear friends, forget our dear friends the cuttlefish." Just like that, Jack had launched into one of his speeches, and Violet shook her head, rolling her eyes at the captain. Of course he'd figure that this was the best way to get his point across. "Flippant glorious little sausages. Pen 'em up together and they'll devour each other without a second thought. Human nature, isn't it?...or...or fish nature."
"Have you ever actually seen a cuttlefish, Jack?" Violet began, but Jack waved a hand, dismissing the comment, which just confirmed that he had not, in fact, seen one.
"So yes, we could hole up here well-provisioned and well-armed and half of us would be dead within the month, which seems grim to me any way you slice it. Or, as my learned colleague so naively suggests, we could release Calypso, and we can pray that she will be merciful. I rather doubt it." He linked his arm with Violet's ad began to slowly walk around the table and passing by each pirate lord in turn. "Can we in fact pretend that she is anything other than a woman scorned, like which fury hell hath no? We cannot. Res ipso loquitur tabula in naufragio."
"The thing speaks by itself, a plank in a shipwreck," Violet translated, remembering a life on Tortuga, bottles of rum, a bed of hay, and a little red book called Proverbs of the Sea.
"How do you know Latin?" Jack asked, surprised, and Violet shrugged flippantly.
"How do you know it?" she retorted, and Jack grinned back at her.
"Touche, love. Anyhow, we are left with but one option. Returning to the dear cuttlefish, we must remember that these cephalopods will battle one other at any cost, especially when it comes to protecting their mates. I agree with, and I cannot believe the words are comin' out of me mouth, Captain Swann. We must fight." Jack finished with vigor, extending his hands as he and Violet returned to the end of the table, and pirates stared at him, open-mouthed. Violet, on the other hand, wasn't sure if she'd ever been this happy in her life. He was going to fight. Her Jack, her cowardly, mad, pirate captain was going to stand up and fight. And to protect his mate, no less.
"You've only ever run from a fight," Barbossa scoffed, and Jack shot him a look of mock injury, folding his arms over his chest.
"I second that," shouted Norrington from the other side of the room, and Violet, and at least half the other pirates in the room, glared at him.
"Have not!" Jack said indignantly.
"You have too," Barbossa retorted, and Violet rolled her eyes. Just lie that, all chivalry had died, and the two of them were back to their child-like selves.
"What does it matter? He's not running now, is he? And neither should we!" Violet shouted across the table at Barbossa, and was suddenly vaguely aware of the fact that this man was, in a way, responsible for her relationship with Jack. "If you claim to be a pirate, then you must defend the sea! We must fight, for if we do not, we give up all that we love to someone who will kill us all, regardless of if there is a battle. Do you really think Beckett will just let us all roam free if we surrender peacefully? We are not the only pirates on the sea, Barbossa!"
"Exactly!" Elizabeth shouted, grinning at Violet, and the pirates all turned to stare at her loud outburst. "Exactly."
"Well, that's all well and good, Charles, but as per the code, an act of war, and this be exactly that, can only be declared by the pirate king." Barbossa stared defiantly at Jack, who threw up his hands.
"You made that up!"
"Did I, now? I call on Captain Teague, Keeper of the Code!" Barbossa's words echoed through the room, and Violet almost started laughing at the tension that seemed to rack Jack's body. She knew exactly who this Teague was, a year of sailing with the talkative Jack Sparrow had made sure of that.
"Sri Sumbhajee proclaims this all to be folly!" shouted a crew member of one of the Pirate Lords, and he was midway through shouting out something else when suddenly, a crack echoed through the cabin, silencing all stray conversations. Immediately, the pirate fell over, dead, and every head swiveled in the direction of the smoking gun which had dealt the fatal shot.
"Code is the law." The cool voice made Violet jump, and both she and Jack swiveled around to see Captain Teague standing behind them, giving them each a cold stare. "You're in my way, boy."
Silently, Violet and Jack stepped away from each other, ending up on either side of Captain Teague as he marched through the gap they'd left in between them. Behind him, two bearded old men brought forth an enormous book, and set it down with a large thump on the Brethren's table.
"The code." Violet's words were a breath as she stared at the book, this volume of guidelines that had defined her life for longer than she could remember.
"Hang on a minute," Jack said, and he began to flip through the massive novel, turning over page after page as the Brethren watched, captivated. Violet kept her gaze forward, not wanting to make eye contact with the fearsome Captain Teague. It didn't help that the man was also Jack's bloody father. "Huh. 'It shall be the duty of the king to declare war, parlay with said adversaries…' Fancy that."
"There's not been a king since the first court, and that's not likely to change." One of the Pirate Lords, a French-looking gentleman with a heavily plumed hat, addressed the Court indignantly.
"Not likely," Teague repeated, his voice sending a shivers down Violet's spine. He sounded like Jack.
"Why not?" Elizabeth asked from across the table.
"Because the king is elected by popular vote," Gibbs replied, and Violet's heart warmed at the sight of him. Good old Gibbs.
"And each pirate only ever votes for himself," Barbossa confirmed, and Violet sighed. This meeting was taking an excruciatingly long time, and without a king, it seemed it would continue indefinitely.
"I call for a vote," Jack said suddenly, and Violet stared at him from behind Teague's back.
"What is wrong with you?" she hissed, and Jack shot her back a grin, obviously trying to inform her that he knew what he was doing. Needless to say, she didn't believe him.
Round and round, the nine Pirate Lords each called out their own name, each declaration followed by a bout of cheers from the crew members stationed behind them. Elizabeth voted for herself half-heartedly, followed by Barbossa, another Pirate Lord, and then-
"Elizabeth Swann." Jack's declaration sent the room into uproar, and Violet met Elizabeth's gaze from across the table, who looked utterly shocked. Violet couldn't help but grin as the pirates all turned on Jack, shouting at him. Elizabeth was the obvious choice, Violet realized. That girl was stronger than many of the pirates she knew.
"Am I to understand that you lot will not be keeping to the code, then?" Jack said loudly, and the pirates were silenced by Teague's glare. Evidently, he was not someone they wanted to anger.
"Very well," Mistress Ching said, folding her arms over her chest, "what say you, Captain Swann, king of the Brethren Court?"
Violet watched as Elizabeth took a deep breath, gathering herself, and she gave her friend a reassuring smile.
"Prepare every vessel that floats. At dawn, we're at war."
When the pirates finally cleared out of the room to prepare their ships, one after the other, the lamplight was dying out, and only Jack and Violet remained, leaning against the now severely scratched-up oak table.
"Evening, Coldblood."
Violet's head jerked up from where she had rested it on Jack's shoulder, and stared straight into the eyes of Captain Teague.
"Oh! Er, evening, Captain. I wasn't aware that you-" she began, but Teague's dark chuckle silenced her, and his eyes caught the lamplight in a dancing way that reminded her too much of Jack.
"Of course I know you. Jackie couldn't shut up about you, last time I saw 'em." Teague turned to his son, smiling sadly at him. "How are you, boy?"
"Alright." Jack took Violet's hand, interlacing his fingers through hers, and holding it up deliberately to show his father. "The good captain and I are going to war soon, you see."
They were, Violet realized. The reality of war hadn't really sunk in for her yet, and it was hard to believe that in a few hours they'd be out on the sea, blades clashing and blood staining the wood of the deck.
"I never like to go to battle while in love." Teague turned his gaze on Violet, who wasn't entirely sure what to make of his words. "It'd be a terrible business if one of you didn't make it."
"Cheery, aren't you?" The words left Violet's lips before she could stop herself, and she clapped a hand over her mouth, eyes widening. "Oh, damn it, I didn't mean-" Her apology was silenced by Teague's sudden burst of laughter, and she stared at the captain, utterly confused. Was this the man who had killed a pirate without a second thought only moments ago?
"I can see why Jackie likes you," Teague said, his words interspersed with dark chuckles. "The two of you are more alike than you think."
"Well, I'm sorry you had to put up with such a son," Violet said tentatively, and Teague laughed again, ignoring Jack's offended look.
"Keep him out of trouble for me, won't you, Coldblood?" Teague reached out a hand, and Violet let go of Jack's, clasping it with a smile and shaking it once, twice, three times.
"I'll do my best, Captain."