Little Sparrow
Chapter 3
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~In the Foyer of the Swann Manor~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile down in the foyer of the manor Will stood patiently, although a bit nervously, waiting for the governor to arrive. Finally getting up the nerve to move and not stand like a statue Will studies the design of one of the candle holders on the wall. As he touched it the holder broke loose from the wall in his hand. Upon hearing footsteps approach him, Will hurriedly buried the holder in a vase that contained canes and umbrellas. Nodding politely to the butler Will acted as thought nothing had happened.
Not too long after the butler had passed about his duties the Governor entered the foyer.
"Ah, Mr. Turner, good to see you again." Weatherby said
Will respectfully bowed and then spoke. "Good day, sir. I have your order." He said placing a case on the table in the middle of the room, opening it , and taking out the sword within.
As the Governor unsheathes it he looks highly impressed with the craftsmenship of the weapon "Well."
Will hastily suppressed a proud grin as he began to explain the finer details of the sword.
"The blade is folded steel. That's gold filigree laid into the handle. If I may…." He said and waited for the Governor's approval before taking the sword and balancing it on his finger tips.
"Perfectly balanced. The tang is nearly the full width of the blade." he continued before flipping the sword and gracefully presenting it to the Governor again.
"Impressive. Very impressive. Ah, now, Commodore Norrington is going to be very pleased with this. Do pass my compliments on to your Master. Hmm?" Governor Swann said taking the sword and placing it back into the case.
A disappointment stirred inside Will as once again his master Mr. Brown was given the credit for his work. He quickly swallowed his disappointment as he latched the case shut again.
"I shall. A craftsman is always pleased to hear his work is appreciated." He said gratefully
A noise on the stairs pulled their attention from the sword to the grand staircase of the foyer.
"Oh, Elizabeth, you look absolutely stunning." He father said proudly
However Elizabeth ignored him and he attention went straight to Will who was standing dumbfounded.
"Will! It's so good to see you. I had a dream about you last night." She said excitedly
"About me?" he asked puzzled and somewhat shocked.
"Yes, well, is that entirely proper for you to...?" Weatherby said trying to cut in on the conversation, due to the impropriety of the situation.
However Elizabeth brushed her father off and continued speaking directly to Will.
"About the day we met, do you remember?" she asked
"How could I forget, Miss Swann?" he answered back respectfully
"Will, how many times must I ask you to call me Elizabeth?" she said with a chuckle and a smile
"At least once more, Miss Swann, as always." He said in the same cool tone he had been using all morning
"There. See? At least the boy has a sense of propriety. Now, we really must be going." Weatherby said as he handed Elizabeth her parasol and escorted her out of the manor.
"Good day, Mr. Turner." She said coldly as she walked out with her father and a butler behind her.
After they were in the carriage and had started off Will slowly exited the house and spoke.
"Good day…..Elizabeth." he said in a soft voice that was almost a whisper.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Back In Town~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Once back in town Will stopped by his favorite little pub for a bite to eat. As he walked through the doors his was greeted by the owner his wife and several other people he knew. Walking up to the bar Will smiled as Henry the owner shook his hand and Jennifer his wife gave him a big hug.
"Oh don't you look dashing today" Jennifer commented.
"Thank you Jen" Will said to her. "And you look quite lovely yourself".
"Oh Will you are just the charmer. I'll go fetch Marisol for you" she said with a blush on her cheeks.
Will nodded as Henry stood in front of Will and grinned.
"So when are you going to admit that you love Marisol?" he asked bluntly
"W-W-What?" Will asked shocked
"You heard me Will, you may think you love Ms. Swann, but Marisol is the one that truly holds you heart, and if I'm right you are the man that holds hers" Henry said
"Henry, Marisol and I are just friends that's all. Besides she can do much better than a blacksmith" Will said looking down slightly.
Unbeknownst to him and Henry Marisol had heard their entire conversation. Sighing she put on a smile and walked out from the backroom of the pub.
"Will I have your table ready along with your lunch" Mari said smiling despite the fact that her heart was breaking just looking at him.
Will smiled and followed her to the back, where ever since they were children they would have lunch and talk.
"Your menu sir" Marisol said giving him a special one that she made earlier that morning just for him.
" Ah well let's see." He said pretending to mull over his options. "I'll have everything" he said with a grin
Marisol laughed and brought out two bowl of soup to start them off.
"So how did it go with the governor today? Did he like the sword?" she asked excitedly
"He was impressed" Will said with a sigh.
"He gave the credit to Mr. Brown didn't he?" Marisol said frowning at her friend's disappointment.
Will nodded in response.
Marisol reached across the table and grabbed his hand "Will you're a wonderful blacksmith and one day everybody who looks over you is going to regret doing so. Don't doubt your skill darling." She said sweetly.
Will smiled as she gave his hand a squeeze before letting go and bringing out the main course of the meal. Will let out a slow breath thankful that she had let his hand go, due to the large jolts of electricity that kept shooting through him at the contact.
Marisol giggled as she brought out the plates and saw Will's eyes get big with hunger.
"You can stop drooling now Will." She said smiling
"I can't help it whenever you cook I drool" Will said with a laugh.
"I'll take that as a compliment" Mari said and put the plates on the table.
The two sat down for lunch and talked of everything as they always did.
"So have you found out anything else about your father?" Will asked
"No, no I haven't "Marisol said looking down and desperately trying to choke back tears
"Mari darling I didn't mean to upset you" Will said noticing her change in demeanor.
"Its fine Will It's not your fault. I just really want to find him of course with the assumption that he's still alive" she said
Will nodded and tentatively gave her hand a small squeeze.
"So when do my sword lessons begin?" Mari asked cheering up
"Tonight if you like" he said
"That would be wonderful I'll come over the moment I get off of work" she said bright eyed.
"Marisol your needed out front dear!" Jennifer called
"Coming!" she yelled back "Well that's the call of duty. Stay as long as you like, and if you stuff yourself feel free to rest upstairs in my flat and make yourself at home" she said and kissed him on the cheek as she left.
Will's cheek turned hot at the contact and he smiled as Marisol walked out front. He finished his meal and decided that after such a large and delicious meal he would take her up on her offer and take a short nap in her flat. Walking up the stairs he easily found her bedroom. Getting comfortable he stretched out and fell asleep quickly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~On the Docks~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile on the docks all had turned around to look at a strange man that was sailing on the crow's nest of a boat that was slowly sinking. Stepping off the now sunken boat the captain landed safely on the docks.
Walking confidently the man strode past the harbormaster but was stopped short.
"Hey! Hold up, there, you. It's a shilling to tie up your boat at the dock. And I shall need to know your name." the harbormaster said the him
The man smiled and placed three shillings in the harbormaster's hand "What d'ye say to three shillings... and we forget the name?" he said grinning slyly.
The harbormaster obviously agreed. "Welcome to Port Royal, Mr. Smith." He said a walked away.
The now Mr. Smith strode away as well but stopped to steal the harbormasters money pouch and pocket it.
"Pirate" Jack said to himself
As he walked though the docks he noticed that there was some sort of ceremony taking place upon the battlements , and assumed that the docks with more sturdy ship was left unguarded. Finding he was there is sauntered down not noticing the two guards that were there until he was stopped dead in his tracks.
"This dock is off limits to civilians. "the soldier known as Murtogg stated
"I'm terribly sorry. I didn't know. If I see one, I shall inform you immediately." Jack said as he tried to walk around Murtogg but was again stopped. This time he tried a different approach "Apparently there's some sort of high toned and fancy to do up at the fort, eh? How could it be that two upstanding gentlemen such as yourselves did not merit an invitation?" he asked the two soldiers in front of him.
"Someone has to make sure this dock stays off limits to civilians." Murtogg informed him
" It's a fine goal to be sure but it seems to me that a...a ship like that makes this one here a bit superfluous, really." Jack said pointing to the Dauntless.
" Oh, the Dauntless is the power in these waters, true enough, but there's no ship as can match the Interceptor for speed." Murtogg replied
" I've heard of one, supposed to be very fast - nigh un-catchable...the Black Pearl." Was the reply from Jack.
" Well...there's no real ship as can match the Interceptor." Mullroy said brushing off the Black Pearl as a legend.
" The Black Pearl is a real ship." Murtogg corrected his partner.
" No, no it's not." Mullroy stated flatly.
" Yes, it is, I've seen it." Murtogg argued back.
"You've seen it?" Mullroy questioned disbelievingly.
" Yes." Murtogg replied
" You haven't seen it." Mullroy retorted
" Yes, I have." Murtogg protested
The bickering between the two continued long enough to allow Jack to slip past them and climb aboard the Interceptor. When the two finally noticed they hurriedly climbed aboard with their guns pointed at Jack and ordered him to disembark.
" I'm sorry, it's just - it's such a pretty boat. Ship." Jack said trying his best to look sympathetic.
" What's your name?" Murtogg asked
" Smith. Or Smithy, if you like." Jack lied smoothly.
" What's your purpose in Port Royal, Mr. Smith?" Mullroy asked
" Yeah. and no lies." Murtogg added
" Well, then, I confess, it is my intention to commandeer one of these ships, pick up a crew in Tortuga, raid, pillage, plunder and otherwise pilfer my weasely black guts out!" Jack said in his exaggerated way.
" I said no lies!" Murtogg said not believing him.
" I think he's telling the truth." Mullroy said.
" If he were telling the truth, he wouldn't have told us." Murtogg argued.
" Unless, of course, he knew you wouldn't believe the truth even if he told it to you." Jack said truthfully and with a grin.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Back at the Fort~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The ceremony was now over and the reception was in full swing. After shaking hands and receiving compliments from the many people who attended. Eventually Norrington found his way over to Elizabeth and offered his arm to her.
" May I have a moment?" He asked
Elizabeth nodded and took his arm. They walked onto the battlements and stepped onto the high platform that over looked the sea.
"Uh, you look lovely, Elizabeth, uh, apologize if I seem forward, but I... must speak my mind. This promotion throws into sharp relief that which I have not yet achieved. Uh... a marriage to a fine woman. You have become a fine woman, Elizabeth." He said frankly and in the most gentlemanly manner.
"I can't breathe." Elizabeth said while grabbing her stomach in a vain attempt to loosen her corset.
" Yes, I... I'm a bit nervous myself." Norrington said not paying attention to the fact that Elizabeth had fallen over the side of the battelments.
"ELIZABETH!" he yelled once he noticed, drawing the attention of other people at the reception.
Norrington began to remove his jacket to go in after her but was stopped by one of his officers who warned him about the rock that lay below.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Back at the Docks~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jack had been telling a story to the two dimwitted soldiers when they noticed Elizabeth fall and heard the yell of the Commodore.
" Will you be saving her then?" Jack asked
" I can't swim." Mullroy said looking terrified of the water
" Pride of the King's Navy you are. Do not lose these." Jack said while handing the soldiers his affects and diving into the water.
Murtogg and Mullroy looked into the water and saw what looked like a large ripple passed through it. They looked at each other in confusion and then ran to the dock to help Jackwith Elizabeth
"Ooh, I got her. She's not breathing!" Murtogg said in a panic
" Move!"Jack said as he shoves him aside, cuts open the corset and Elizabeth begins to spit out water and gasps for breath.
" Never would've thought of that." Mullroy said in amazement.
" Clearly you've never been to Singapore." He said to Mullroy and then he noticed the medallion.
"Where did you get that?" Jack asked Elizabeth as soldiers stampeded the dock.
" On your feet." Norrington ordered with the tip of his sword at Jack's throat.
" Elizabeth. Are you alright?" Governor Swann asked with concern.
" Yes, I'm fine." She said.
Governor Swann then sees that Murtogg is holding Elizabeth's corset. Murtogg quickly points at Jack.
"Shoot him!" the Governor ordered.
"Father! Commodore, do you really intend to kill my rescuer?" Elizabeth protested.
"I believe thanks are in order." Norrington said while sheething his sword and offering Jack his hand to shake.
As Jakc took his hand Norrington gripped his wrist and revealed the 'P' tattoo on Jack's wrist, identifying him as a pirate.
"Had a brush with the East India Trading company, did we, pirate?" Norrington asked scarcastically.
"Hang him." the Governor said quickly.
" Keep your guns on him, men. Gillette, fetch some irons." Norrington said.
He then sees the tattoo of a sparrow in flight.
" Well, well... Jack Sparrow, isn't it?" He said with a smirk.
" Captain Jack Sparrow, if you please, sir." Jack said
"Well, I don't see your ship...Captain." Norrington retorted
"I'm in the market as it were." Jack replied
" He said he'd come to commandeer one" Murtogg said .
Told ya he was telling the truth. These are his, sir." Mullroy said and handed the Comodore Jack affects.
"No additional shots nor powder. A compass that doesn't point north. And I half expected it to be made of wood. You are without doubt the worst pirate I've ever heard of." Norrington said as he inspected Jack's things.
"But you have heard of me." Jack said with a grin.
"Commodore, I really must protest." Elizabeth said while breaking free from her father.
"Carefully, Lieutenant."Norrington said ignoring her.
"Pirate or not this man saved my life." Elizabeth said in protest.
"One good deed is not enough to redeem a man of a lifetime of wickedness." Norrington said to her matter-of-factly
"Though it seems enough to condemn him." Jack said throwing in a random comment.
"Indeed." Norrington said with a grimace.
Suddenly Jack threw his arms around Elizabeth's neck and held her against him as a hostage. The surrounding soldiers immediately raised their guns and ready to shoot.
"No, don't shoot!" Governor Swann said in a panic.
"I knew you'd warm up to me. Commodore Norrington, my effects, please, and my hat. Commodore!" he said rushing the reluctant Commodore.
" Elizabeth. It is Elizabeth isn't it?" He said smiling at her.
" It's Miss Swann." She said venomiously.
" Miss Swann, if you'd be so kind. Come, come, dear. We don't have all day. Now if you'd be very kind." He said to her an grinned over her shoulder at the Commodore.
"Easy on the goods, darling." He said when she yanked at his belt.
"You're despicable." She spat.
"Sticks and stones, love. I saved your life, you save mine, we're square. Gentlemen, m'lady, you will always remember this as the day that you almost caught Captain Jack Sparrow!" he said as he pushed Elizabeth away from him and ran off into the town.
"Now, will you shoot him?" Governor Swann asked with sarcasm.
"Open fire!" Norrington said as they watched Jack perform impossible stunts in his attempt to escape.
"Gillette, Mr. Sparrow has a dawn appointment with the gallows. I would hate for him to miss it." He said to his officer.
The soldiers spread out to search high and low for Jack. They ran right past him in their haste to find him as Jack noticed a young woman walking toward the Blacksmith shop.
"More leverage" jack thought as he grabbed her and dragged her inside the Smithy."