New chapter! Hope you enjoyed the previous two, finally starting to thread into AWE, NOTE: I changed the ages of Isabelle and James, she was 18 instead of 22 when they married and he was 22 instead of 24, apart from that, nothing's changed. So I will try to make changes appropriately.

Thanks. =]

Four

The previous day, including his father's announcement, still hung in the air at Norrington Manor, so Edward had decided to join his father at the Fort to watch the weekly hanging of local criminals, prisoners, and especially pirates.

Edward stood beside his father, watching those sentenced to death shuffle up one by one to the gallows, seven stepping up to the seven nooses that hung drearily above them on a beam. The sentenced were flanked by EI Co. soldiers, holding their muskets before them, trying to look intimidating

Edward was watching from above, standing on a turret, with the British Flag flying behind him and two of the EI Co. guards pacing up and down the two walkways that allowed one to travel round the walls of the Fort.

James stood beside him, one hand behind his back, the other resting on the ceremonial cannon. Edward, who had been blocking out the voice of the man saying what they had been accused of, suddenly pricked up as he called out "By decree, all persons found guilty of piracy, or aiding a person convicted of piracy, or associating with a person convicted of piracy shall be sentenced to hang by the neck till dead".

Edward stood bolt upright as he noticed a young boy shuffling up the gangway towards the gallows, he looked about as young as him, and was looking at something pressed into his palm. He stepped up to the middle noose and looked up at the deadly rope above him.

He looked down at his possession again, before starting to speak, words inaudible to Edward's ears.

Edward winced as the large hangman, clad in leather, placed a barrel in front of the boy and lifted him onto it, tightening the noose round his neck.

Suddenly, the man next to the boy suddenly began to sing, a song Edward had never heard before, he couldn't hear the first part, but he caught on at the end "…hoist the colours high".

"Heave ho" all seven people on the gallows began to sing. As did the people waiting "Thieves and beggars. Never shall we die"

"Yo Ho" the soldiers flanking the prisoners began to look uneasy, backing away and eyes darting toward one another, desperate to know what to do.

James hand moved from the cannon to Edward's shoulder, gripping his son tightly, his eyes full of confusion and worry.

"Haul together

Hoist the colours high"

James darted round and walked briskly down to where Lieutenant Groves waited for him, the same look of perplexity on his face as James.

"Never shall we die"

Edward looked away as the hangman pulled the lever that opened the hatches beneath the nooses, wincing as he heard the snap of seven necks.

Edward ran off to find his father, desperate to get back home.

He almost knocked James over he was running so fast "Edward, what's wrong?" James asked.

"I don't like it here, can we go home?" Edward asked.

"Not yet, my boy" James replied, he pulled his son close to him "You could go and find your grandfather, he is around".

Edward nodded, desperate to get out of the main courtyard.

As he walked out of the main Fort, over to his grandfather's office, Edward noticed an oriental looking man in a dirty green suit. He began to quicken his walk, as the man was now following him.

Suddenly, the man lunged forward and grabbed the boy round the waist. Edward tried to cry out, but a cloth was stuffed into his mouth, preventing him from doing so.

He began to kick and punch, and he managed to deliver a sharp kick into the stomach of the man.

Before he knew it, he had been thrown into a dusty black carriage, being drawn by two dark horses and being driven by a tiny bundle of a coachman. The man had thrown him to the other side of the carriage, causing his head to be whacked against the window.

He spat the cloth out of his mouth as the carriage drove off at an incredibly fast pace. He suddenly felt a stinging sensation in his head and touched his forehead with his finger tips, pulling away to reveal blood.

He was scared; who had thrown him into the carriage, where was he going, and why him?

He turned at a voice "Edward"

He gasped at the sight of his cousin, little Rosie Beckett, hunched up in the corner, a bruise festering on her cheek.

"Rosie…." Edward crawled towards his cousin, holding his arms out to her, Rosie gasped as he appeared into the light "Eddie, you're hurt".

"I'm fine, Rosie, I'm fine" Edward reassured her "It's just a cut"

"I want Mamma!" Rosie whimpered.

"I know, I know" Edward pulled her close, "I know you do". He sighed, he couldn't condemn his charming little cousin for the crimes her father was committing against the seas and pirates alike.

He waited till Rosie had fallen asleep, and tried to make out where he and his cousin were headed. But the blinds had been pulled down and fastened from the outside, so they were in darkness besides the small candles flickering dimly in the carriages corners.

He had gotten so used to the dark that when he felt the carriage stop, and the door open, revealing the bright light from the world outside, he had to shield his eyes.

He turned round as the carriage door was shut again, and was shocked to see a bundle.

Grabbing the dagger in his belt, as he could see whatever was inside the bundle moving, he shuffled towards it and, slashing the bag with his knife, pulled back the old rice sack to reveal whoever was inside.

He gasped when he discovered who it was.

*******************************************

James returned home to maids running round in all directions, he and Groves had had to deal severely with the choir of pirates, and after that, Lord Beckett gave them a speech about what they were going to be doing on their voyage in a couple of weeks.

He was looking forward to being able to sit down in the music room with Lucy and Edward and hearing them recite their favourite compositions on the piano.

He smiled as Isabelle rushed downstairs to greet him, but her face when he reached him made a chill shoot up his spine.

Her eyes were wide and shone with impending tears, "James, it's terrible, oh it's terrible!"

She collapsed into James' arms as she reached him.

"Whats wrong?" he asked, steadying her.

"Its Edward and Lucy" Isabelle murmured.

"They're missing".

*******************************************

James was certain of who was behind it.

He had turned on his heels and shot back down to the Fort when he had calmed Isabelle down.

He stormed through the hallways, looking for Beckett's office, when he reached it, he didn't bother knocking.

Cutler himself was indulging in one of the finer possessions that came with being so high and mighty.

His mistress, Lady Caroline Thepperly, a young woman of about thirty, with long auburn hair and brown eyes, was unlike Violet, Cutler's wife in stature, where Violet was like her sisters, petite, slender and very woman-like, Lady Caroline was plump, had a hooked nose, bulging eyes and a poor chin.

Lady Caroline was sitting on Cutler's knee when James opened the door, and was obviously about to shower her lover with kisses. Cutler's grey gaze switched from James to Caroline and back again. He raised any eyebrow "Were you not taught to knock, Norrington?"

James smirked "Not for you, no". He turned to Caroline "Leave us" as Caroline slowly stood up he grew angry "NOW!"

Caroline jumped and rushed out of the office through a doorway that was supposed to be secret.

"What did you interrupt me for?" Cutler leaned forward and adjusted the tails of his coat.

"We need to leave after Jones" James leaned forward, "Right away!"

"Why?" Cutler asked, a evil grin on his lips as he stood up.

James suddenly grew tired of him and crashed into him, sending the little man flying against the wall.

Turning Cutler's head to face him "WE WILL PREPARE THE ENDEAVOUR TO LEAVE!" James hollered "We will…because, Cutler, we have children to find"

"Oh no!" Cutler moaned sarcastically "Have your wayward son and away-with-the-fairies daughter gone missing again?".

"Yes!" James said through gritted teeth "Edward and Lucy have gone missing. But…so has Rosie!".

Cutler's face fell "Rosie?", his eyes clouded "My little girl?". James nodded "And there's no trace of them anywhere round the town".

He finally let Cutler go, watching as he stumbled, adjusted his wig and looked up away to the right.

He turned back to James and said softly "Tell the men to prepare the Endeavour. We are going after Jones"

"Now"

Hope you enjoyed! I know it would be pretty impractical, but I am having Lucy, Edward and Rosie reach Singapore in two days, just before Elizabeth, Barbossa and the others, so Liz can have a double shock, finding Will in a hot tub and her nieces and nephew captured.

See you soon!
=]