AN: This story will be posted in twelve chapters, one per verse. The story starts the year before the movies and then progresses through the years, following Jack and Elizabeth's relationship. Each chapter takes place on the appropriate day of Christmas—chapter one on Christmas Day, chapter two on Boxing Day, etc.

A Partridge in a Pear Tree

Freedom

A breeze carried the sound of laughter up to Elizabeth's window, and she finally tossed the covers back and slid into a pair of slippers. Sleep never came easily on Christmas Eve, but tonight it was anxiety rather than excitement that kept her awake. Her father had invited Captain Norrington to join them for Christmas dinner on the following day, and that told her all she needed to know about his hopes.

"Does it not occur to either of them that I do not want to marry James—that I might even want to marry someone else?" Her thoughts flashed quickly to Will, and she clenched her fists. Her father's attitude toward Will had changed so gradually that Elizabeth was not even certain when exactly he had ceased to be an appropriate companion for the governor's daughter.

The older she became, the more the constraints of society closed about her. At times the expectations pressed so hard she felt she could hardly breathe. James Norrington might be the perfect, proper husband, but no one seemed to realize that she did not wish to be the perfect, proper wife. She tapped her fingers against the smooth, enameled surface of her dressing table a few times, a frown marring her lovely features. "If only James were a bit more interesting, a bit more… of a pirate."

Her frown faded into a secret smile and she opened the bottom drawer of her dressing table. She withdrew a thin, tattered volume and ran her finger across the barely legible title: A Briefe Historie of Pyrates—Being a First Person Acct. by Jacob Marley. She'd acquired the book in true pirate fashion—by stealing from a diplomat who'd stayed with them a few years previously.

She sat down and turned to her favorite chapter. "Of all the scallywags sailing the seas today, none compares with Jack Sparrow…"

She quickly escaped from her own life into the pages of her book, and when a soft knock brought her back home, she was surprised to see it was growing light. "Miss Elizabeth? Are you awake?"

She barely had time to put the book down before Estrella entered the room. "Good morning, Miss. Happy Christmas!"

Elizabeth peeked out the window and let out her breath on a disappointed sigh. The sunrise painted the sky with pinks and golds, and there was not a cloud in sight. "Is it Christmas?" she questioned bitterly. She did not expect snow of course, but must the sun shine so brightly?

Estrella giggled, completely oblivious to her mistress' mood. "Aye Miss."

Elizabeth watched the girl as she set a fire in the grate and pulled back the curtains before pulling a dress and petticoats out of the wardrobe. She hummed a catchy tune as she worked, and finally she had to ask. "What is that song you're singing?"

Estrella glanced over her shoulder. "Oh this? It's just a new Christmas song I learned—The Twelve Days of Christmas."

Elizabeth walked over to the wash basin and scrubbed her face. "Sing it for me." She pulled her stockings on and then held her hands up and allowed Estrella to drop her shift over her head.

"On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me

A partridge in a pear tree."

Estrella laced up the stays, and Elizabeth frowned. Something wasn't right there, though she wasn't sure what it was. She missed the next few verses as she thought about it, but when she paid attention once more she realized it didn't matter, for the song seemed to repeat itself.

"On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me:

Five gold rings,

Four colly birds,

Three French hens,

Two turtle doves,

And a partridge in a pear tree."

By the time Elizabeth was fully dressed in two petticoats, a stomacher, and her gown the fictional lady had acquired an entire menagerie, as well as various servants to entertain her. She sat down at her dressing table so Estrella could attend to her hair. "That's quite the list of presents."

"He's an extravagant lover, to be sure Miss," the maid agreed. "But surely any man would be, if he had the means."

Elizabeth ignored the knowing glint in her eye; it did not surprise her that the servants were aware of her father's intentions, but that did not mean she should add to the gossip. She puzzled over the first verse again and finally realized what had bothered her. "Do you know, I have never seen a partridge in any kind of tree at all? They belong on the ground."

Estrella twisted a bit of Elizabeth's hair up before answering, "I wouldn't know Miss; we don't have any partridges in Jamaica."

Elizabeth shrugged and let the subject drop, though she still felt a pang of sympathy for the misplaced bird. "I think I'm ready for the day's festivities, don't you?"

"Oh yes Miss. Captain Norrington won't be able to keep his eyes off you, if I may say so."

The maid bobbed a curtsy and disappeared before Elizabeth could chastise her for speaking out of turn. The nerve of her, to imply that she had dressed to please James Norrington! Still, she had a point and suddenly Elizabeth was none too eager to leave her room.

The window called to her once more. The sun had fully risen, and she looked out at the horizon where the deep azure of the Caribbean met the lighter blue of the sky above. As always, the sight of the open sea created an ache she knew nothing else would assuage. To be able to sail the seven seas, calling none master but the vast, untamable ocean…

She could almost taste the salt in the air, and she let out her breath on an exasperated sigh. If she longed for the sea, marrying a Navy captain was a logical choice, so why did she hesitate? Her gaze fell to the book on her writing desk, and she knew—more than the sea alone, she yearned for adventure. Marriage to James Norrington would not give her that.

"If I marry James, I will be just as trapped as that partridge stuck in a ridiculous pear tree." No matter how pretty, a cage was still a cage. This was something she knew all too well.

A knock at her door pulled her from her thoughts. "Elizabeth? Are you ready my dear? I thought we could open our presents before the Captain arrives."

"I'll be right down, Father."

"Very well my dear, but try not to linger much longer. You don't want to spend all of Christmas in your bed chamber, after all."

She heard him walk away and a smile tugged at her lips. Her father loved her, she had never doubted that. It was that love that made him wish to see her settled well. Could her love for him drive her to accept a man who she somehow knew would never possess more than her respect?

She ran her fingers over the title of the book one more time, as if hoping the pirate would step out of the pages and carry her off on the adventure she longed for. "Can you rescue me from this boring, respectable life Jack Sparrow, or is that too much even for you?"