hey guys! so, I've recently been getting into a huge PotC obsession, so a few ideas came to me and i decided to put up some stories. if any of you reading this are also interested in/following my Harry Potter stories, than I WILL be continuing those.

so, this might be a little depressing. if you didn't get it, I mean Norrington's general perception of Elizabeth accepting his proposal to get him to go save Will in Curse of the Black Pearl.

I don't own or have any affiliation with the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. I'm not making any money whatsoever by writing this fanfiction.

Maybe it's weird, but my favorite characters have always kind of been Norrington, Groves, and Gilette. I'm thinking of starting up a Groves/OC or it might be Norrington/OC. Not sure yet.

also, i haven't seen the first movie in a while, so if I have any of the dialogue off, I apologize.

okay, so anyway...

enjoy!


"As a wedding gift!"

Norrington stopped in his tracks, slowly turning to face her with shock written all over his face.

The governor stared at his daughter. "Are you saying...that you accept the Commodore's proposal?"

She paused for a long moment. "...I am."

James dropped his head into his hand, tearing off his wig and hat and throwing them onto his desk as he sat down heavily.

To many, it may seem to be a strange thing to be so upset at a moment like this. The woman of his dreams had agreed to marry him, he should be nearly catatonic with joy. But James Norrington was not a stupid man, and he knew that Elizabeth had decided to marry him for all the wrong reasons.

A small, almost microscopic part of him hated the young woman. Did she not know what she was doing to him? She'd just torn his heart out without a second thought. But he loved her far too much to listen to that. He was slightly chagrined to find that he pitied Elizabeth.

She was nearly being forced into marriage with a man that she would never love to save the one she'd never be allowed to love.

Looking back on it, he believes that he'd never truly intended to go through with the marriage. He wasn't capable of taking away her happiness, even if it meant his own disgrace in calling off a wedding.

He'd known all along that he was just grasping at straws. Elizabeth Swann was not and would never be in love with him. She needed freedom, she needed commotion, she needed chaos. James would never be able to make her truly happy. Elizabeth neither needed nor wanted protection, or a sense of security. She relished the feel of walking on the tiny little line between sanity and lawlessness, and that was something James couldn't give her.

And he knew all too well that it was something that a certain blacksmith could supply effortlessly.

A soft knock wounded on the door to his quarters.

"Sir?"

"Enter," he answered leadenly.

Gilette and Groves clambered more than a little clumsily through his door, nearly falling twice throughout the process. Their antics normally would've brought a smile to his face, but nothing seemed to be capable of that at that moment.

He hurriedly tried to put on his badly mussed wig, but gave up in a few moments. They shrugged somberly at him in near unison, and sat in the two chairs opposite him. No words were necessary.

He'd done everything he knew for Elizabeth. He'd spent so much energy, so much time, so much spirit on her. And it was all for nothing.