I glided down the stairs of my family's manor, wearing the latest dress my parents had bestowed on me. Frilly, lacey, a pale blue, a dress any fifteen year old girl would dream of having. I looked over, noticing that my father was talking to a clerk's apprentice, David Mercer. His heart not yet poisened with evil, with a face unscarred, he was the catch of all catches.
David looked over my father's shoulder at me, and grinned a little bit. "Miss Norrington," He said with a short bow. My father, Admiral Jacob Norrington, turned around, and smiled proudly at me. "Heather, dear, you look absolutely gorgeous."
I nodded at them both. "Father, Mr. Mercer."
"Haven't I told you to call me by my first name?" David gave me a quick, goofy smile.
"But it is against high society rules to call others outside your family by their first names." I smiled back at him.
"Well, at least you learned one small detail from your etiquette classes," Father nodded, seeming to pick up on our flirting. "Now, Mr. Mercer, you may take these back to Lord Beckett."
My eyes lowered, smile disappearing. Why did my father want to protect me so much? As a woman, the members of my sex were supposed to marry above our class, and eventually bear our husbands' children. Aside from a few minor difficulties such as disrespect towards my older brother, James, I was trustworthy.
"Good day Admiral, Miss Norrington," David said with a tip of his hat and another grin as He walked out the door.
"Good day, David," I yelled back at him. "Devilish man," I chuckled under my breath as Father closed the door behind me. He glared at me, reminding me that James was pretty much the spitting image of him. "Really Heather, what do you see in him? He is studying to be a clerk, you're the product of high society!"
"Really? I always like to think I was a product of love."
Father rolled his eyes. "All that I am trying to say is, why can't you be like the other girls your age, and want to marry Lord Beckett's son, Cutler? You two used to get along quiet well."
"But He's who everyone expects me to marry! If I set my sights on him, I will not stand out from the rest."
"You are starting to talk like a pirate," He growled. I opened my mouth to speak, but He interrupted. "If you want to talk back to me, consider the remainder of your day spent locked in your room."