Norribeth

He had shown more understanding than she had the right to expect, more understanding than any other man who had just been wed would have shown. In fact he had been nothing but courteous and attentive toward her in every way, had treated her with respect and honor when they were together, despite the fact that each night, for the past two weeks since the wedding, when he walked her to her room she would turn to him and make some excuse…headache….fatigue….a touch of stomach distress and deny him his husbandly rights. She well knew any other man would have not tolerated her behavior, but it was James, and she knew he would not force himself on her. She did feel guilt, especially when she would catch the hurt and rejection in his eyes as he bent to gently place his lips to her hand and quietly bid her good night before heading for his own room.

She did feel terrible about how she was treating him, she did care for him, didn't really like the hurt she was causing him, might even feel love for him if she allowed it to dig its way out from where it lay buried deep down inside her. But her mind was full of one William Turner, who was supposed to be her husband, one William Turner who had left her to go off on one last adventure with Jack Sparrow before settling down to marriage. She had been furious with him, not so much for going, but for refusing to take her with him. She had gone a bit crazy, she could see that now, pity she hadn't realized it at the time, pity she hadn't heeded her Father's advice and given herself a cooling off period. But she hadn't and as revenge the day William sailed out of the Port Royal harbor she went to James and told him the wedding between her and William Turner was off and if his offer of marriage was still open she would be more than glad to become his wife. She had known he would marry her, that he loved her more than any man should love any woman, and she used that knowledge to satisfy her need to hurt William.

Of course the madness, if one cared to call it that, hadn't lasted long, just long enough for her to become Mrs. James Lysander Norrington.

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James had left for the Fort an hour or so ago, and she was sitting in the parlor absently fiddling with some cross-stitch. The maid knocked and she bid her enter.

"There's a gentleman at the door says he wishes to see the lady of the house Madame."

Elizabeth was instantly out of her chair, her cross stitch forgotten as it fell to the floor before she got a hold of herself. She smoothed her skirt, trying to keep her hands from shaking and did her best to control her voice as she replied, "You may show him in Celia, I shall receive him here."

She was a bundle of nerves, her pulse was racing, her breathing almost non existent it was so rapid and shallow, her knees so weak they almost refused to hold her. She knew it was foolish to think it was Will, but somehow she knew it was.

She heard the door open and footsteps enter the room and could not force herself to turn until she heard Will clear his throat and utter a soft, "Elizabeth."

She spun around then to face him, tears barely held at bay as she choked out a barely audible "William" in reply. Then she was across the room and her arms were around him and she was hugging and kissing him, her falling tears soaking into his tunic until he gave an uncomfortable laugh and held her back away from him a little way.

She looked up at him questioningly; the fact that he had not hugged or kissed her back suddenly striking her, and that was when she noticed how his appearance had changed. Oh he was still Will, but there was something different about him, a harder edge to him than he had had before, and she even thought there might be a bit of menace, for lack of a better word than she was able to come up with at the moment about him as well.

"William?" she said looking into his eyes, trying to find the man she had known, the man she had loved somewhere in them.

He looked away for a moment, and just for a moment before he did she thought she caught a little of the old Will in those eyes, but when he met her gaze again it was gone.

He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say a word she knew what he was here for. It came crashing down on her as surely as if the walls of Fort Charles had buried her under their mass. Suddenly she couldn't breathe, her knees refused to hold her; she was shaking beyond any ability to control it, and once again tears cascaded down her cheeks. She collapsed into a chair, her face buried in her hands.

There was only the sound of her sobs for several minutes, then his voice saying, "I'm truly sorry Elizabeth. Things have changed, I have changed. I felt I owed it to you to tell you face to face. I won't be coming back."

A few moments later she heard him leave and close the door behind him.

She cried until she could cry no more, had no emotion left inside her at all. Exhausted she leaned back in the chair and let sleep overtake her, and dreamed.

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When she awakened the sun was already well passed its zenith. She felt lighthearted from the effects of her dream as she went up to her room, straightened her dress, splashed some water on her face, and looked in the mirror. Even though her eyes were still red and puffy from crying she judged she could pass it off saying she had gone into the garden to walk and gotten a bit of dust in her eyes. She went back down stairs, checked on the progress of dinner, poured herself a cup of tea, and sat down in the dining room to wait, James would be home soon. Sure enough she soon heard him come in the front door and pause to hang his hat, wig, coat, scabbard and sword on the hall tree. She walked over to the dining room door and stood there looking toward him. As he turned he noticed her there, and with some concern in his tone as he headed for her he said, "Elizabeth, are you alright?"

Her eyes met his and she smiled up at him, the first true smile she had given him probably since she had been a girl and they had made the crossing from England. "I am fine James." She held her hand out to him, "Come and sit with me please."

He took her hand and she led him back into the dining room and over to a chair and sat down beside him without letting go of his hand.

"Elizabeth, what is it? Is something wrong?" James said, bafflement at her actions clearly showing on his face.

She smiled again as she squeezed his hand and said, "On the contrary James, things couldn't be better."

"Elizabeth, I'm afraid I am at a bit of a loss here, I'm not sure I understand just what is going on."

"I have something to tell you James." She started and then, "But wait, I'll get you a cup of tea before I start. I'm afraid dinner will be a bit yet."

She went and fetched his tea, set it down in front of him and again took his hand in hers as she sat beside him. "I had a visitor this morning. Someone I have longed to see for so long, someone I had hoped would be coming back for me."

James looked down at the teacup in front of him, his voice as he spoke so full of pain it was heart wrenching to hear, "So Mr. Turner has returned for you and this is your good bye then."

She leaned over and gently took his chin in her hand and raised it to look into his eyes, " William did return, that much is true. But he only came to give me his goodbye, to tell me he was not coming back for me."

As James' expression changed from one of complete devastation to one that held a glimmer of hope she put her hands on his shoulders and with her face close to his began to speak, "James Norrington, you are a fine man. I don't deserve you. I have treated you more cruelly than can be forgiven. But I am asking you now to do that very thing."

James started to interrupt, to tell her he would forgive her anything, but only got a few words out before she put a finger to his lips to silence him, "Hush now till I've finished. I need to get this out James."

He gave her finger a kiss and nodded his head in accent.

She didn't look directly at him as she spoke, rather looked off over his shoulder at nothing, "You know it's a funny thing, until today I would have sworn William Turner was my life, that I loved him more than anything else in this world. But today, after he left and I had become exhausted from crying I fell asleep and dreamed. Now you would think I would have dreamed about William and all he meant to me and how heartbroken I was that he had left me wouldn't you?"

James gave an unsure little nod of his head; still not totally convinced, despite her words so far, that this wasn't going to turn out with her leaving him.

She looked him in the eyes as she continued, "But I didn't dream of William, I dreamed of you James. I dreamed of how you have always been there for me, a kind, understanding, and comforting shoulder to lean on when I needed it. Even after I so unmercifully embarrassed you in front of all of Port Royal, used you so cruelly, you were still always there when I needed you."

He looked back into her eyes and from the bottom of his heart said, "None of which I did not do gladly."

She smiled and kissed his cheek, then ran her hand over the side of his face and back to run through his hair, "I know James, at least I am becoming aware of just how honorable and fine a man you really are." She paused to wipe a tear from her cheek before continuing. "So what I have to say is this James, I want to try and be a good wife to you, I want to experience your love, want to nurture the love I know is there in me for you." Her tears were falling freely now, as were James as they held each other close, each whispering words of love and commitment to the other.

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Cook turned around to see an extremely red faced maid, supper tray still in her hand return to the kitchen. "Why haven't you served the Mr. and Mrs. yet?" A look of concern passed across her face, "Is something wrong with the food? Did they complain about something?"

The maid stuttered a bit as she set the tray down on the counter, "Nnno….they ah…they ah… didn't complain…….I just don't think now's the time."

Cook looked at her as if she was daft, "What ya mean now's not the time?" She walked over and opened the door between the kitchen and the dining room, then red faced herself quietly closed the door and said, "I see what you mean. Well we'll put it up for them to have later. I'm sure with the activities they're engaging in they're bound to work up a ravenous appetite."

The End

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