Chapter 3: Family Speaks

Back at the house she was staying, her young mistress was talking with her parents, and Louisa couldn't help but overhear. "...and so when Norrington applied for the transfer back to England, he tried to track down the governor's daughter - Elizabeth, she went over there nearly twenty years ago with her husband, the blacksmith, and couldn't find her. He wrote back, and the governor was so upset, he was nearly ready to set sail as search for Elizabeth himself!" Louisa suddenly dropped the jug she'd been holding.

Margaret, the girl's mother, stood up. "Oh, my dear, what's wrong?" Louisa almost started crying. "I know that name - Elizabeth... it's... it's my mother's name... I remember! And... and my father... he was a blacksmith... Will... William... Turner.... I remember! I'm sure of it! Is... is there anyone in Port Royal called Turner? Please tell me there is!" Margaret glanced at her husband, and then back to Louisa. "Perhaps... perhaps you'd best go with John to see the governor, my dear. I think perhaps he'd be able to help you...."

And so, within the hour, she was sitting in the governor's lounge room, nervously, waiting for him to appear. When he did arrive, the first thing he did was to catch her in a hug so fierce she was winded. "Louisa! I'm so glad to see you! The fellows who brought you in had a bag of mail, and one of those letters was from my son-in-law, Will, explaining you were coming. I'm so happy you weren't hurt!"

Louisa smiled, even more nervously, and looked at her hands. "I... I'm glad I'm finally meeting you... sir," she stumbled.

The governor smiled, "Call me anything, apart from sir - I'm called that by everyone I know, including your father!" Louisa laughed, nervously. "I'm... I mean... I can't really remember much at the moment, about him, or my mother... I was hoping you could help me...."

The governor smiled again. "Of course, my dear, I'll tell you anything you want to know about either Elizabeth or Will."

John excused himself from the room, knowing that they would have to advertise for a new maid - Louisa had found her place at Port Royal.

The governor moved both himself and Louisa to the comfortable seat near the door, and for a long while, neither spoke. Finally, Louisa broke the silence. "What is my mother like? Or was, when you last saw her?"

The governor sighed, "She was always one to do what no one expected. And marrying your father was one of those things."

Louisa smiled, "How did my parents meet? Where you there?" she asked, and Governor Swann smiled. "Yes, I was there when they met. Elizabeth was only eight, and William was ten. Elizabeth and I were sailing from England to here, and we came across a merchant ship in ruins. There was a boy in the water, namely Will, and we pulled him ashore. That was how they met - Will was in Elizabeth's care. They became good friends, though when we arrived at Port Royal, they had to separate. Will went into the care of Mr. Brown, the blacksmith, and learnt that trade. Even though I objected, they remained friends, secretly at first, and when I found out, your mother threatened to run away if she couldn't stay friends with him.

'It wasn't until Commodore Norrington's promotion ceremony that I realized how much William liked your mother, when he raised such a fuss when he was told that rescuing her from the pirates wasn't happening straight away. He broke a pirate, Jack Sparrow, from the gaol, and stole one of the best ships in the navy along side of the pirate, in the hope to find, and bring her back.

'Of course, I thought it was only infatuation at the time, but when we caught up with them, and the battle at sea took place, and Jack Sparrow was recaptured, something had changed. It was as though that once his feelings had been found out, he didn't bother to hide them from the rest of the public." He paused, and looked at his granddaughter for a reaction. She smiled, "What happened then?" she asked, prompting him to keep speaking.

'When we arrived back at Port Royal, Will was taken to the gaol, along with Sparrow, but Elizabeth tried to convince me to clear William's name, along with Sparrow, and I did for Will. As much as I wished it, Jack Sparrow's record could not be cleared, but Elizabeth accepted Will's clearance with little fuss.

'After Sparrow's trial, he was sentenced to hang, and at this point, three weeks after our return to Port Royal, Elizabeth hadn't seen William. Whilst the executioner was reading Sparrow's record, he appeared, out of nowhere, and pronounced his love for your mother. Then he caused a great fuss by aiding the escape of Sparrow, right in front of the executioner and the navy.

'This time, however, we didn't even bother to put him behind bars - my daughter can be very persuasive when she wants to be. He claimed he would settle down, and not return to the sea. Sparrow, however, continued his piratical fun, and after Elizabeth and Will were married, they announced they were going back to England. Soon after that, Sparrow himself disappeared from the sea, and I have only seen your parents twice since they returned to England.

'When Norrington returned to his home in Wales, he tried to find your parents, to pass on my well wishes. He could not locate them anywhere, and wrote back to me. I was almost ready to set sail at once, until a member of staff told me to wait until I received a letter from Elizabeth, or Will, before I made any rash actions. When the ship carrying you, and the other two gentlemen, arrived, the letter delivered to me explained that they'd moved to an island, with other British settlers, and that you were coming to visit, an possibly stay for a while."

Louisa listened to the familiar story with a smile on her face. ~I knew the story~ she thought, ~but I've never thought of it from someone else's perspective before. It makes it all sound so much more... whirlwind almost!~

"I wish I could remember more about them," Louisa said, almost wistfully, and she turned to look out the window, which looked over the ocean. The governor smiled, "You will, my dear, you will. Just give yourself time, you must not rush these things."