Title: Ankles All the Way
Author: Dala
Rating: strong R for sexual situations, though not in this chapter
Pairings: Elizabeth/Norrington, sideline Jack/Will
Disclaimer: The characters and situations of this fanfic belong to Disney, etc. Making no profit.
Author's Notes: I just had a crazy five-and-a-half hour writing spree, and this little fic is what came of it. More to come -- much more.
Contains some spoilers for the deleted scenes, in case you haven't seen the DVD yet. The title in fact comes from my very favorite part of the blooper reel. The look on Jack Davenport's face continues to be priceless, every time I watch it, and I've got to be up in the hundreds by now.
~~~~~~~~
James Norrington was not a lucky man. Therefore he was having trouble understanding this conversation with Elizabeth Swann.
"Commodore?" she inquired, tilting her gaze up at him with a wide-brimmed hat shielding her eyes from the sun.
"I apologize, Miss Swann. Could you repeat that?"
Biting her lower lip, she said, "I know I've no right to ask anything of you, but...your proposal, does it still stand?"
That was what he thought she'd said. He had to put a hand on the battlement for support, feeling suddenly light-headed.
"I know you haven't found anyone else – or not...officially," she continued delicately.
"No," said Norrington faintly. "But surely...William Turner...?"
At this she turned her head aside, gazing out to sea. He could not make out whatever emotion lurked behind the mask of her eyes. "Will is gone," she said softly. "To the Black Pearl. And before you can ask it," she added, facing him again with a clear defensive posture, "my father has nothing to do with this. He doesn't even know I've come here."
Norrington found it difficult to meet her eyes when she was so clearly hiding something, but he tried nonetheless. He envied her ability to cover what she was feeling; he knew his every emotion showed on his face, in his body language, as it was doing now. His eyes would be anxious, his lips pressed tight together, his body leaning toward her with the smallest touch of hope.
"You would marry me still?" he asked, unable to keep the lump in his throat from being audible in his voice.
"If you would have me," she replied calmly.
He couldn't quite help himself. "Why?"
Her fingers toyed with the lace of her sleeve, the only outward sign of her discomfort. "We would make a good marriage," she said. It wasn't really an answer, at least not the one he was looking for, but he didn't press her. Elizabeth revealed herself to no one if she didn't want to.
The thought suddenly occurred to him that Turner must have left for a reason, and that it no doubt had something to do with the reason she was now talking marriage with him. It was a scandalous thought, and he had no polite speech with which to express it. It had been three months since the disaster with Sparrow and the undead pirates, which would certainly be enough time to make her aware of her condition if she was indeed carrying Turner's child. There would be no way for him to know until the wedding night, and those little details were never more than whispered about in polite society...His inner monologue trailed off just after hitting 'wedding night.' Elizabeth, his wife, in his bed...
He shook his head to clear it. There was a time and place for such thoughts, and this was not it. The question that needed asking was would it be worth it? The feelings he had for her – he had too little experience with love to dare call it that, though privately, he suspected that it ran as true and deep – would they suffice in a marriage of convenience? Could he raise another man's child as his own, never saying a word about it? Or, if that wasn't what prompted her boldness, then he would simply have to live out the rest of his life with a woman who didn't love him.
What it came down to, really, was either the simple factor of him loving her enough for the both of them, or neither of them caring at all. He wasn't sure which option he favored at the moment; they were both severely depressing.
But Elizabeth was looking at him, and now he could see something behind her careful sculpted blankness: pleading. All the will to refuse her left him immediately. In the end, her reason for agreeing to marry him didn't matter. There was nothing in him with the power to turn her away.
"Then...I would be honored if you would be my wife," he said formally, extending an arm. She took it with the same sort of smile she had on the Dauntless, on the way to Isla de Muerta, as if she could start crying at any given moment.
Norrington knew he had to learn to ignore looks like that, or he would only end up making them both very unhappy.
~~~~~~~~
Don't make the mistake of thinking Elizabeth is a heartless bitch, by the way. She'll have her say at some point.
Author: Dala
Rating: strong R for sexual situations, though not in this chapter
Pairings: Elizabeth/Norrington, sideline Jack/Will
Disclaimer: The characters and situations of this fanfic belong to Disney, etc. Making no profit.
Author's Notes: I just had a crazy five-and-a-half hour writing spree, and this little fic is what came of it. More to come -- much more.
Contains some spoilers for the deleted scenes, in case you haven't seen the DVD yet. The title in fact comes from my very favorite part of the blooper reel. The look on Jack Davenport's face continues to be priceless, every time I watch it, and I've got to be up in the hundreds by now.
~~~~~~~~
James Norrington was not a lucky man. Therefore he was having trouble understanding this conversation with Elizabeth Swann.
"Commodore?" she inquired, tilting her gaze up at him with a wide-brimmed hat shielding her eyes from the sun.
"I apologize, Miss Swann. Could you repeat that?"
Biting her lower lip, she said, "I know I've no right to ask anything of you, but...your proposal, does it still stand?"
That was what he thought she'd said. He had to put a hand on the battlement for support, feeling suddenly light-headed.
"I know you haven't found anyone else – or not...officially," she continued delicately.
"No," said Norrington faintly. "But surely...William Turner...?"
At this she turned her head aside, gazing out to sea. He could not make out whatever emotion lurked behind the mask of her eyes. "Will is gone," she said softly. "To the Black Pearl. And before you can ask it," she added, facing him again with a clear defensive posture, "my father has nothing to do with this. He doesn't even know I've come here."
Norrington found it difficult to meet her eyes when she was so clearly hiding something, but he tried nonetheless. He envied her ability to cover what she was feeling; he knew his every emotion showed on his face, in his body language, as it was doing now. His eyes would be anxious, his lips pressed tight together, his body leaning toward her with the smallest touch of hope.
"You would marry me still?" he asked, unable to keep the lump in his throat from being audible in his voice.
"If you would have me," she replied calmly.
He couldn't quite help himself. "Why?"
Her fingers toyed with the lace of her sleeve, the only outward sign of her discomfort. "We would make a good marriage," she said. It wasn't really an answer, at least not the one he was looking for, but he didn't press her. Elizabeth revealed herself to no one if she didn't want to.
The thought suddenly occurred to him that Turner must have left for a reason, and that it no doubt had something to do with the reason she was now talking marriage with him. It was a scandalous thought, and he had no polite speech with which to express it. It had been three months since the disaster with Sparrow and the undead pirates, which would certainly be enough time to make her aware of her condition if she was indeed carrying Turner's child. There would be no way for him to know until the wedding night, and those little details were never more than whispered about in polite society...His inner monologue trailed off just after hitting 'wedding night.' Elizabeth, his wife, in his bed...
He shook his head to clear it. There was a time and place for such thoughts, and this was not it. The question that needed asking was would it be worth it? The feelings he had for her – he had too little experience with love to dare call it that, though privately, he suspected that it ran as true and deep – would they suffice in a marriage of convenience? Could he raise another man's child as his own, never saying a word about it? Or, if that wasn't what prompted her boldness, then he would simply have to live out the rest of his life with a woman who didn't love him.
What it came down to, really, was either the simple factor of him loving her enough for the both of them, or neither of them caring at all. He wasn't sure which option he favored at the moment; they were both severely depressing.
But Elizabeth was looking at him, and now he could see something behind her careful sculpted blankness: pleading. All the will to refuse her left him immediately. In the end, her reason for agreeing to marry him didn't matter. There was nothing in him with the power to turn her away.
"Then...I would be honored if you would be my wife," he said formally, extending an arm. She took it with the same sort of smile she had on the Dauntless, on the way to Isla de Muerta, as if she could start crying at any given moment.
Norrington knew he had to learn to ignore looks like that, or he would only end up making them both very unhappy.
~~~~~~~~
Don't make the mistake of thinking Elizabeth is a heartless bitch, by the way. She'll have her say at some point.