Return of the Sparrow
Chapter 3
Jack opened his eyes, sitting up from his sprawled position on the wooden floor. His shackled hand went gingerly to the sore lump on the back of his head where he had been hit and cursed under his breath.
He glanced around. From the looks of things, he was in the brig of the Commodore's ship. He suddenly remembered Norrington's order to destroy the Black Pearl and Jack suddenly felt very queasy.
His ship. What on earth would he do without his ship? It was one thing to simply be without it. At least it had still been intact during the ten years he spent going after Barbossa. It was something else for it to no longer be in existence.
He stood up and went to the door, peering down the corridor for any sign of the rest of his crew.
He cleared his throat loudly.
"Jack?"
"Gibbs?"
"Aye."
"Aye."
From the sound of Gibbs' voice, he assumed the rest of his crew was a few cells down from his.
"How you feelin', Capt'n?" Gibbs asked.
Jack considered for a moment. "Like I've been hit over the head with a rifle and my home's been blown to pieces," he replied dully.
"They didn't blow it up," he heard Anamaria say. "We didn't hear an explosion. I think I convinced him not to. At least not until we were convicted."
"Well in that case, Mr. Gibbs, I only feel like I've been hit over the head with a rifle," Jack said decidedly.
There were a few chuckles.
"How long have we been in here?" Jack asked quietly, not wanting any of the British down there to see what they were all talking about.
"Few hours, I reckon."
Jack sighed and slumped against the wall. He hated being in close confinement like this. He rarely let on that it bothered him, and usually just sat and waited for the "opportune moment." But in truth it drove him mad. He felt so claustrophobic in these situations, but did his best to keep up his morale for his crew's sake.
The next three days followed without incident. Jack was nearly to the point of hair pulling with boredom and confinement, when they heard the anchor splash. He perked up, knowing that if any escape attempt were to be made, disembarking from the ship would probably be the best time.
A few soldiers came down some minutes later, holding an assortment of shackles and ropes. They distributed them among the pirates and came back to shackle Jack's ankles and blindfold him as well.
"One wrong move and we'll shoot you outright," one of the soldiers hissed in his ear.
Jack grinned and allowed them to lead him up the steps.
As it turned out, no moment arose that enabled him to attempt an escape and he once again found himself locked in yet another cell.
~~~
"We're going to my father's house for dinner tonight," Elizabeth announced, as Will came through the door after a day's work in the smithy.
He nodded, gulping water from a dipper.
"I received a note earlier today. It said the Commodore would also be there." She smiled wryly and Will choked slightly.
"I'm sure we will have a…wonderful time," he said, not sounding convinced at his own words.
"Best get cleaned up. We should leave soon," she added.
Will nodded and went upstairs to change into something that would be deemed respectable for a dinner at the Governor's house.
~~~
The Commodore had already arrived when the maid showed Will and Elizabeth into the dining room. He stood up and bowed slightly, shaking hands with Will.
"How was your trip?" the Governor asked Norrington, trying to make polite conversation until dinner was brought.
Norrington nodded and cleared his throat, glancing at Will and Elizabeth and looking somewhat uncomfortable. "It was successful, I'm pleased to say." Noticing Elizabeth and Will's questioning faces he added, "I was attending to the capture of the ones that destroyed the Challenger."
"Did you find them?" she asked, daintily sipping from her water glass.
Norrington shifted in his chair and looked at Will again. "Yes, we found a group of suspects."
"Who?" Will asked.
Norrington went slightly pink. He knew Will was friends with Jack and his crew. Hopefully he had gained some sense after marrying Elizabeth though, and would realize that Jack was nothing more than, well, a pirate.
"A certain Jack Sparrow," he muttered.
There was a moment of silence.
"What would Captain Jack Sparrow want with a passenger ship?" Will inquired, tasting his soup that one of the maids had laid out before him and trying to hide his surprise.
Norrington opened his mouth slightly before closing it. He hadn't thought of that. "Only pirates would attack a ship that way. They probably did it out of spite."
"You think Jack would attack and destroy and passenger ship out of mere spite for the British Navy?" Elizabeth asked, skeptically.
"The fool carried the same pistol with the same shot so he could shoot one man that had vexed him ten years back, for goodness sake! If that's not spite, I don't know what is."
"Is this exactly proper dinner conversation?" Governor Swann asked hesitantly from the head of the table.
They all looked at him.
"Of course not, Governor. Do forgive us," Norrington apologized, bowing his head slightly.
The rest of dinner continued without any mention of pirates. They talked about the weather, politics and all the other things that were traditionally discussed in "proper dinner conversations."
"Well Governor, Mr. and Mrs. Turner," he added. "It's been very delightful, but I must get going. Paper work to fill and the like."
"Yes, we must be going as well," Will said, rising, Elizabeth following suit. "I have a couple…orders that need to be delivered," he finished hastily.
"Well, I'll see you to the door," the Governor said.
Will followed Norrington closely down the steps as Elizabeth stayed in the doorway to talk to her father for a minute.
"Sir, I wish to speak with him," Will muttered, almost trotting to keep up with Norrington's brisk pace.
"Who's that, Mr. Turner?" Norrington asked idly, stopping and turning to Will.
"Jack Sparrow."
"Captain Jack Sparrow, Turner and I'm afraid you can't do that," he said, untying his horse.
"Why not?" Will demanded.
"Because, the likes of you should not be consorting with pirates, Mr. Turner," he snapped, adjusting the girth on the horse's saddle.
"He didn't attack that ship."
"How would you know? You don't honestly think that attacking innocent people for his own pleasure is beneath him, do you?"
"But there was no profit in it for him," Will insisted. "He wouldn't have risked it, and he wouldn't have killed the people and destroyed the ship either. Please, just let me speak with him."
Norrington pursed his lips, stepping in the stirrup and swinging his leg over the horse's back. He sighed.
"Meet me at the jail tomorrow before you start work. I'll see what I can do." He frowned slightly. "Good evening, Mr. Turner." He turned his horse and set off down the lane at a trot.
Elizabeth walked up to Will and entwined her fingers in his.
"I don't think Jack would have attacked a ship like that," she said softly, as they walked down the road to their house that was not far away.
"Neither do I. I have Norrington's gracious permission to speak with him tomorrow, so I'll see what he has to say."
Elizabeth nodded. "I just hope he really is innocent."
"He is," Will said confidently, opening the gate to the front garden. He is, he repeated to himself, as he let Elizabeth go through the gate first. He better be.
A/N: Yes, I know that was rather boring and nothing of great interest happened, but I couldn't help it. I had to write something and I needed to think of a way for Will to find that they had captured Jack so he could help him. *shrug* Ah well, next chapter will be better, I think…I hope. Below are answers to your reviews and as always, if you want me to tell you when I upload the next chapter, leave you email address or AIM screen name in a review and I'll let you know.
Vous Savez - you um, *cough* changed you pen name? Dun worry, you'll always be "Miss Savvy" to me. What's the 'vous' part mean? I like it though. Thank you so very much, you are ever so brilliant, you really are. Thanks for helping me with this chapter and all the encouragement. It does help, I think. 'Ta!
Jackfan2- Thank you, thank you, thank you. I'm so very glad you like it.
Cherrychica- *gasp* a review that's longer that I line. I'm soooo impressed leetle gurl. Thanks, luv ya!
~*Kayden~Eidyak*~