This is just a little something that popped in my head. A bit of a filler piece and a character study as well because I LOVE Norrington and think he got royally shafted by the storyline.

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She ran hard, the sound of her leather shoes slapping the cobbled stones and dirt a dissonant accord. Even so, it took her near as she could figure a good half hour or more at least to make her way from the governor's mansion to the fort. Navigating thru the insanity of town, since there just was no good way around, had been terrifying. The pirates were everywhere. She panted and prayed and hid when necessary, figuring it would do her nor her mistress much good were she to get nabbed or worse as well.

Add to that, running hither and thither at best speed was not something she did frequently. By the time Estrella made her wheezing way up the incline to the fort, she was nearly past her endurance.

"The...gov'ner.."she gasped to the first sentry she reached. "must...see..." she leaned over and began to retch.

The soldier eyed her dubiously. " 'ere, now, miss. Wot's the fuss? We's in tha midst o' battle now. Not the place fer leddies."

She reached up and grabbed the nearest thing she could, which happened to be his uniform sleeve. "must...help! Gov'ner's...daughter.."

The soldier snapped to then. " 'ere, wot's tha now? What with tha gov'nors daugh'er?"

To his credit, the soldier didn't waste any more time talking but grasped her arm and practically frog marched her into the fort. Estrella struggled valiantly to keep up but the endurance threshold she had been hovering near had been solidly crossed and she folded gracelessly forward and began to heave again into the dirt as she struggled to regain her breath.

The soldier began pressing her to get up.

Lackwit! she thought uncharitably. reckon I'd not be sittin in tha dirt ifin I could move!

Chivvy her as he might, Estrella simply could not yet go any further.

It wasn't very long before their little band attracted the attention of a senior officer, who promptly strode over to them.

"Hadley!" he barked, "what in God's name is this woman doing here?"

"Sir!" the hapless soldier snapped to attention, "she says she's news of the Gov'ner's daughter, sir!"

"What? Girl, is this true?"

Estrella wilted under the gimlet stare the lieutenant turned on her. Having recovered herself somewhat, she struggled to stand. The officer kindly leaned over and offered her a hand.

"Now, girl, what's this about the governors daughter?"

"Please sir, I'm Miss Elizabeth's maid. They've took her sir! The pirates have taken Miss Elizabeth! I mun tell his lordship!"

The officer, like his subordinate before him, grasped Estrella's arm and hurried her thru the fort.

Even though the bombardment seemed to be mostly over, soldiers were still running here and there, shouting orders and expletives in equal parts, a complete confusion to her untrained eye. However, as they emerged briefly onto the battlements Estrella looked out and saw the why. A dark, ghostly looking ship, that could only belong to the pirates, was quickly tacking it's way out of the harbor waters of Port Royal and into open sea.

"Oh, sir! We mun hurry!"

The officer had apparently seen the same as she for he barked at the nearest soldier for the direction of the Commodore. Informed, he took off at a pace that had her near running to keep up.

There, just ahead, Estrella saw the tall form of Commodore Norrington barking orders to a handful of men surrounding him. NEVER had she been so glad to see the imposing gentleman. Surely this commanding figure would know what was to be done. Before the soldiers accompanying her could do aught, she tore away and ran towards him.

"Sir! Sir! Oh, Commodore, sir!"

Norrington's head whipped around at the completely untoward sound of a woman's voice calling to him. In his fort. His gaze sharply focused then narrowed on the woman running pell mell towards him and the two soldiers right at her heels. She looked rather familiar...

Estrella stopped right before him, teetering dangerously at the sudden halt to her forward motion, causing several of the surrounding men to jerk reflexively forward as if to catch her. The Commodore put out a hand, catching her at the shoulder and simultaneously halting and steadying her. Turning a hard eye to the two men who huffed up behind her he asked, "What is the meaning of this and why is there a woman in the fort during a siege?"

Estrella's two escorts gulped almost comically in sync at the low, measured tone, a dangerous sound that any man in the fort had learned well meant instant obedience.

Estrella, however, had no such experience. Again, before her escort could respond, she gasped out, "Oh, God in Heaven, sir, the pirates! They did come and take me mistress, my Miss Elizabeth, awa' with them!"

To anyone unfamiliar with Commodore James Norrington, and that would be most persons, this pronouncement would have seemed to garner hardly any reaction. However, to Lieutenants Gillete and Groves, who had served with him nearly a decade and were as close to friends as they could claim the Commodore had, and to Estrella, who was close enough to tell, the reaction was intense. His posture tensed, hunched, ever so slightly, as if absorbing a blow. His hand tightened, for just a moment, bruisingly hard on Estrella's shoulder as his pupils widened and his eyes grew glassy with shock. His normally healthy color faded to an ashen hue and, for the briefest instant, the hand that ever rested on the sword hilt at his side trembled. Then, he blinked. Swallowed...hard. And very deliberately unclenched his hand from the trembling maid's shoulder.

All this occurred in such a brief period that those unfamiliar with the Commodore would simply assume nothing untoward HAD occurred. But of the three persons present who were closest and had seen, one was now in absolutely no doubt about the regard he held for a certain young lady she served and the other two exchanged glances, concerned and wary as to what effect this news would have upon their commanding officer and friend.

"Lt. Gillete, find the Governor, bring him to me," he rapped out as he began striding purposefully into the fort, his coterie of staff following in his wake.

"Lt. Groves, find someone to escort this Miss home and then gather the senior staff and assemble in the war room. Lt. Harlow, gather a crew to begin assessing the damage to the fort and and accounting for the dead. I want reports in an hours time." he finished as he stepped into his office and shut the door.

The three lieutenants exchanged glances and then Lt. Harlow turned and strode off, barking out orders as he went. Gillete and Groves gave each other a more significant glance and then Gillete hurried off to retrieve the Governor from the secured room he had earlier been escorted to.

Lt. Groves then turned to the disheveled maid beside him and offered her a small bow. "Miss, if you will follow me, I will see about acquiring you that escort."

She fell into step just slightly to the side and behind him and hurried after the imposing young man as he set off. Still pondering what all she had seen, she mused, half aloud to herself, "He really DOES care for 'er, don't he?"

Lt, Groves, unsure if he was meant to respond or not, murmured only a soft, "Indeed, miss" as he quickened his pace.