Before The Dawn

Chapter VIII: Of Governors and Ransoms

By FalconWing

Although he didn't know it, it was at the very moment that Jack Sparrow, now of the Jolly Roger, was given his promotion that Governor Weatherby Swann received the note by way of airmail.

He was sitting at a desk in the study in the midst of attempting to pen letters to all the neighbouring colonies, beseeching aid in the rescue of his daughter, the Commodore and any other citizens taken. It should be noted, however, that "in the midst" as a phrase should be interpreted as a relative term.

In fact, he hadn't started – he had no idea what to write. Numerous balls of screwed up parchment littered the floor in the immediate vicinity of the desk and the current endeavor was not going very well. He had not managed to get even a "Dear Governor." Several times now he had gone to write something only to find the ink dry on the end of his quill. By the time he was ready to put pen to paper the train of thought would be gone.

In its place would be the last images he had seen of his beautiful daughter; proudly standing by her new husband, looking up at him with love sparkling in her eyes and joy painted on her face; her eyes dulled with dread as she took one last fearful glance over her shoulder at him, before she was dragged down the hallway.

Elizabeth was all he had left. His wife had been taken from him. He would not let the same fate claim his daughter.

But he didn't know how to stop it.

So he sat at his desk with his blank parchment and dry quill, surrounded by rumpled scripts and despaired.

At the very least he wished that they had left Turner behind. While he had hoped Elizabeth would make a better marriage, he could not deny that if it hadn't for the boy then she likely wouldn't have been around to be captured again in the first place. He may have some way of getting her back. His saving her life was really one of the only reasons he hadn't resented Elizabeth's decision to wed the boy – that and the fact that she was his only daughter and he wanted nothing more than to see her happy. If it took Turner to make that so, then so be it.

A commotion and what sounded awfully like squawking, came from out in the front entrance breaking into his musings. He distinctly heard the disgruntled exclamations of the new butler. "You bloody bird, shoo! Get outside, you dratted thing!" Really, the man must learn to curb his tongue if he hoped to keep his positions in such a distinguished household.

When the clatter refused to cease, the Governor heaved a sigh and replaced the quill in the inkpot. Pushing back his chair, he put everything in order before making his way through the living room and into the parlor. He opened his mouth to reprove the butler but the sight that greeted him was enough to shock him into silence.

A bird that looked to his eyes to be some sort of cross between a parrot and a chicken circled the room, madly dodging the butler's pathetic efforts to grab it. The table had been knocked over and the vase that had rested atop it had crashed to the ground, leaving a spreading puddle of water.

The bird swooped low in a dive that took it very near Governor Swann. He ducked, his arms instinctively coming up to shield his face but something caught his eye. He straightened and took a closer look. It was an envelope. His brow furrowed in a puzzled frown. Something told him that he needed to open that envelope but he couldn't figure out what. Why would someone put something in an envelope, attach it to a bird and send it to his house?

The penny dropped.

It had to be about Elizabeth. That bird carried his daughter's future clasped between its grubby little claws.

The shock that held his body immobile fled in the wake of the adrenaline that flooded his veins. He had to get that envelope and the message that he knew was in it. He sprang forwards with an athleticism that belied his age. The butler was left gaping at his employer and even Weatherby himself would have been amazed at his own agility had he not had more pressing matters close at hand.

As the bird passed over again he made a jump for it that, while compared to the younger generation may be ungainly, was really quite astonishing for a man of his age and…physique.

Astonishing as it was however, it did nothing towards grabbing the bird. The Governor was frantically waiting for an opportunity to give it another go when the animal breezed past overhead and dropped the envelope right into the small pool of water created by the smashed vase.

Governor Swann hurried over to it, nearly bowling the butler over in his haste to reach the missive. He ripped open the now soggy packet and pulled out the note within. His eyes flicked over it, steadily bulging out of their sockets more and more as he read it, re-read it and then read it again.

He looked up and met the butler's curious gaze, the note fluttering to ground again at the loosening of his grip. His habitual austere equanimity long gone, his eyes now burned with a feverish intensity in his pale face. He now had only one task occupying his mind and all his powers of intellect – while admittedly not all that big – were bent on it. Elizabeth's rescue was paramount and in the absence of Commodore Norrington the duty fell to the recently promoted Captain Gillette.

Purpose now firmly assured he stepped out the house and started off down the driveway on foot. It was time to do something even if it was only to establish their most likely course and scout until some trace of them was found. He thought about the note and readjusted his wig agitatedly.

He didn't have a thousand gold pieces, let alone ten thousand. He was a Governor, not a king.

– – – – –

Back at the house, the butler still stood staring out the door at the retreating form of the Governor in bewilderment. Where was he going? He hadn't announced his departure or called for a carriage, merely struck off on foot. A squawk from overhead made him raise his head in time to see the strange bird launch itself off the staircase banister and out the door.

He bent down to start tidying up the broken vase. Lying half immersed in the spilled water was the neglected message that had caused the Governor to leave in such a hurry. Intrigued, he picked it up and looked at it.

Although he couldn't read what it said, he could tell that the writing was neat and precise. He could also make out that the scrawled signature at the bottom had not been done by the same person that had written the rest the letter. Shaking his head and berating his own illiteracy he set the paper aside and continued to collect all the shattered pieces of china.

And the ransom note was left, discarded but not forgotten, the tidy handwriting of someone obviously well educated staring petulantly at the ceiling waiting for a response to its threat.

Governor Swann,

I offer you a deal. In exchange for a total of ten thousand gold pieces we are willingly to return unharmed Elizabeth Turner nee Swann.

If you decline this generous proposition then your daughter will be publicly defiled and then executed with the remainder of your subjects also in our possession.

To contact us, send to the Jolly Mary tavern in Tortuga and address it to myself.

Captain Clavell of the Jolly Roger.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – –  – – – –

Thank you for reading. Don't worry, more Jack and Anamaria next chapter and it should hopefully be longer too and with more happening. Please take the time to review. Any and all reviewers will be held in continuous adoration. Also if you notice any spelling or grammatical errors I've missed, please let me know so I can correct them. An enormous thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. Your comments and criticism was hugely appreciated.

                                                                                Reviewer's thanks

Valk: Don't worry, I'm certainly not planning on abandoning this story. It's my first real story with a plotline and everything and I'm certainly going to see it through to the end.

Coolpuella: It's good to know people actually enjoy the plotline. Thanks for all your nice comments and ongoing reviews.

The Phantom: Thanks for the praise and I'm glad people aren't getting their backs up over the fact that I have no original female characters coming in and stealing Jack's heart. I know other people may but I just don't see him as someone who would fall in love and settle down with anyone.

Crazydominodragongirl: Nice to know I have people waiting. Thank you for all your reviews. And I agree with you when you say Jack won't talk just because he's drunk (although I have to say he does have a finite tolerance level – after all he passed out on the island with Elizabeth – he just doesn't lose control over his mouth for a minor reason such as intoxication).

Opranoodlemantra: Interesting name you've got there. Thanks heaps for all your reviews and kind remarks.

Savvyness: Thanks for all the reviews and I tried not to leave you hanging for too long.

MiRoRmInX: Hey Bailes thanks for the reviews and I can't believe I made all those grammatical errors. Eeek. I went back and corrected what I hope was them all. And I did pay you back – look on my bio page.

Alaawya: Yes it would help having a higher status, so you may wonder why Clavell put him there, eh?

LunarianPrincess: Thank you so much for all your reviews. Jack does have an exceptional ability to run rings around people when they lease expect it doesn't he?

Quiet Infinity: Aww, getting nice comments always makes you feel better. Thank you.

Oodles of love to you all…

FalconWing.