Since there has been some confusion as to the nature of this fic, let me explain it now. It is the story of the first film rewritten to put Norrington into Elizabeth's thoughts more than he was originally. It is not intended to be a completely original story. It is intended solely to put a Norrington-centric spin on the events of the film. I do not claim the characters or dialogue from the film as my own.

"This is where your heart truly lies, then ?"
"It is."

But was it? If it was, why hadn't she felt more certain when she said it? She had stood beside Will because she hadn't wanted him and Jack to be killed, but was love honestly a part of the equation? Oh, to be sure, she cared about him a great bit, and thought he was smashingly handsome, but how was she to know if it was love? She'd been taken with Will since the day she met him, but she didn't know how to tell if it had grown into something more. And the look on James's face when he had asked her! She felt guilt pricking at her even now, as she thought of the sadness in his expression, while Will, on the other hand, couldn't have looked more pleased.

James and Will, two men vying for her affections, two men who she had met on the very same day. The day she saw the Black Pearl for the first time. That fateful day when she was ten years old, making the passage from England...

Young Elizabeth Swann was bound for the Caribbean seas. Her father was to be the governor of the newly settled island ofJamaica, and so she and he had boarded the HMS Dauntless, which was to transport all soon-to-be government officials to the island. Her mother had died some years before, and as Elizabeth had no brothers and sisters, it was just her father and herself in her party. However, her father was often busy with his associates, and Elizabeth had to find ways to entertain herself. Most often this entailed sitting and staring at the floor, or reading books, most of which were about her favorite subject - pirates. She would have loved to get into all sorts of trouble exploring the ship, but she was deathly afraid of being caught by the ship's lieutenant - one James Norrington. He was a stern and serious young man, who valued his duty above all else in the world. Elizabeth had never seen him laugh or joke as the other sailors did, and she stayed out of his way as much as possible.

On this particular day, she chose to occupy herself by standing at the Dauntless's bow, trying to see anything interesting through the dense fog it had entered. She wondered if there could be a pirate ship out there right now, and she couldn't even see it. She began to sing a pirate song she had heard once, halfway hoping it would bring a pirate ship near, until she was startled out of her reverie by a hand clapping down on her shoulder. It belonged to a bristly, superstitious sailor named Gibbs. He was always speaking cryptic warnings and frankly, he rather spooked Elizabeth whenever he came near.

"Accursed pirates sail these waters," he told her. "You don't wanna be bringin' 'em down on us, do ya?" Elizabeth squirmed as he drew uncomfortably closer.

"Mister Gibbs, that will do," came a firm voice from behind, causing Gibbs to stand up and step away from her. She breathed a sigh of relief, but caught her breath again when she saw that the voice belonged to Lieutenant Norrington.

"But she was singin' about pirates, sir!" Gibbs protested. The rest of his words were drowned out by Elizabeth's fear of what Norrington's reaction to this would be.

To her surprise, he only said in a bored tone to Gibbs, "Consider them marked. On your way."

Gibbs did as he was told, but not without a last surly remark. "It's frightful bad luck to have a woman aboard, sir. Even a miniature one." Norrington ignored him and turned to Elizabeth.

"Actually, I think it would be rather exciting to meet a pirate," she said, her enthusiasm about the subject getting the better of her fear of him. Amused by her naivete, he smiled. It was the first time Elizabeth had seen him do it.

"Think again, Miss Swann; vile and dissolute creatures, the lot of them," he said, coming to stand beside her.

She wondered at the fact that he was talking to her. He had always seemed so inapproachable and aloof - the kind of man who wouldn't like to be bothered with children. Yet here he had saved her from creepy Mister Gibbs, and now he was conversing with her as if she were an adult.

"It is my intention to see that any man who sails under a pirate flag or wears a pirate brand gets exactly what he deserves."

She was at a loss to understand what that was. He looked at her and smiled again. He had a kind smile, even as he spoke the next words. "A short drop and a sudden stop."

Still not understanding, Elizabeth looked back towards the main deck to contemplate. There she saw Mister Gibbs pantomiming someone being hanged. She gasped in fright, and looked to the lieutenant to question if that was what he really meant. But at that momenther father interrupted them, telling Norrington that he didn't think the subject was appropriate for his daughter to hear. Norrington offered his apologies, and left them. Her father followed soon after, and Elizabeth was left by herself again. She turned her gaze back towards the sea, thinking about the new aquaintance she had just made, and hoping that they could become friends. Contrary to what she had previously believed, he was actually quite agreeable, even if he was a bit serious. Besides, he could tell her lots of things about pirates! But her attention was diverted by something floating out on the water. It was a parasol. Strange for something like that to be all the way out here...