Jack Sparrow:-: Damnation Seize My Heart:-Prologue-:

Port Royal

1720

Historical note:

Infamous pirate of the Carolina's and later, the Caribbean, Charles Vane sailed with Calico Jack Rackham. After successful exploits plundering ships in Jamaica, Vane's two sloops were wrecked during a hurricane and consequently they were marooned on an uninhabited island in the Bay of Honduras. Betrayed by an old friend, Captain Holford, Vane was captured. After being taken into custody, on March 22nd, 1720 Charles Vane was hastily tried and hung at Gallows Point in Port Royal, Jamaica.

I am Diana Vane, daughter of Charles Vane, a pirate. Was. Is no more. Notorious rouge and murderer, but I loved him none the less.

My mother was an heiress whose fortune had been lost in a game of cards. My father took pity on her and resolved to take her with him. Alas she died of fever while I was young, leaving me to be brought up by my father.

I had spent my childhood sailing the seas. Stood by his side in battle, seen the blood of his enemies stain the deck. I had no shame. By the age of twelve I was an excellent shot and proficient with the blade. He had taught me well. I will always remember the day when he asked me to take the wheel for the first time. I must have been around six, it was a fine day and we were drifting along the coast of Florida, lying in wait for a laden Spanish ship to pass.

'Take the wheel for a moment, sweeting.' He said, taking a swig from his hip flask. I stood there with the wind ruffling my hair, the morning sun warming my face.

I stood in the mud, looking up at the twelve gun brigantine, the Ranger. For the last time. Her bow towered high over me, the refined curve of her hull rising above me like some magnificent cathedral. 'Ranger,' I whispered. Overhead the Jolly Rodger fluttered in the breeze smiling at me for the last time, as if saying its finale farewell. Around me, the dock was livid with activity. Merchants unloaded their cargos, Navy Officers keeping order. A bell began to peal the hour. An empty sound, pitiful and dreary, each note seemed to engulf the ship dissonantly. I shifted uneasily and looked towards the town. Only as the eleventh note chimed and died away, did I remember Father.

'Father!' I gasped, beginning to run. I set off towards Gallows Point.

A huge crowd had gathered, but the scaffold stood empty apart from the executioner who stood there adjusting the noose. Was I too late? Had there been a last minute reprieve? No, merely a wishful fancy to dwell on. My heart pounded. I turned to a woman standing nearby.

'Am I too late?' I asked.

'No, dear.' She reassured me, looking me over curiously. I thanked her and pushed my way towards the scaffold. All of Port Royal was there. The governor and his young daughter, no older than me, stood in the front row. The girl fiddling with the feathered fan saw me and smiled. I glared at her in return, almost tempted to poke my tongue out at her. My father was going to be hung and here they were awaiting their entertainment patiently. They would have gladly seen me swing alongside him.

'Captain, who is that girl?' asked the governor's daughter, turning to the man who betrayed my father, Captain Holford, the traitor.

'Which girl?' he asked, searching the crowd as I ducked behind a young couple.

'The girl that's dressed as a boy!' she insisted, 'She was standing right there.'

Captain Holford narrowed his eyes, 'That would be her, Vane's daughter.'

The girl gasped. They wanted me to be afraid. They wanted me to run and throw myself into the sea. But to do that would be to give in to them. Never.

As twelve o'clock struck, an excited hum passed over the crowd. The heavy wooden gates creaked as a series of marines marched through the crowd. A man in a brocade coat who I recognized to be the magistrate walked up onto the scaffold. I sighed. Shackled at the feet, his hands bound behind his back. He stood on the scaffold, dressed in a fresh white shirt with a crimson vest, ebony breeches with ribbons and buckled shoes that glinted in the light. Standing tall and fearless, his grey eyes looked out towards the ocean. The faraway gaze he had in his eyes when he waited to board an enemy ship. A priest stood before him and made a feeble attempt to deliver the last rights to him. The executioner stepped forward to place the noose around his neck. Stepping away quickly, he flourished his tricorn hat bowed low to the crowd. The hangman placed the noose around his head. His grey eyes searched the crowd for me. As our eyes met, he smiled. I smiled back. Below him the trapdoor sprang open. My eyes clouded as I watched his body swing at the end of the rope.

A/N: YES, Jack Sparrow WILL be in the next chapter, this is just a prologue. I started writing this when I was 13…yep, a few years ago. Well, today I opened up my "memory box" and at the very bottom I found scraps of paper containing this crap. I came up with this one boring German lesson. I would REALLY appreciate reader feedback or ratings just so I know whether people like it or hate it. Some of the writers here are excellent and this is my first Jack Sparrow story…so my apologies if you find that this is total farce.

Best wishes,

SugarxXx