Disclaimer: I do not own or have any interest in any Disney intellectual property. I am making no profit from this. I am writing this for the pure joy of it.
The Adventure
Chapter 1
Norrington was bored, tired, and definitely ready to be out of here! He continued to stand in his "Commodore in the Royal Navy" stance and smile though that was not easy!
He had not been looking forward to this particular event, knowing it would be exactly what it was, boring, and tiring. He was here because it was his "Duty."
He held a certain level of prestige as Commodore here at Port Royal and it irritated him when someone else tried to usurp that prestige, as was being done now!
The "gentleman" who was speaking had been droning on for what seemed like hours. Lord Bristol was here on direction of the Royal Navy for what had been represented as a fact-finding mission. Seems England wanted answers for all the problems not only Norrington, but all the British posts within the Caribbean area and beyond had been having with pirates. Lord Bristol had made Port Royal his first stop on his mission.
When Norrington had met him on the dock earlier that day, without so much as a hand shake or by your leave, Lord Bristol had made it clear he was going to find the underlying cause of these problems! And for the Commodore's further information heads would roll when he found out who was at fault! The day had gone down hill from there.
James had some unpleasant dealings with Lord Bristol in the past, and was not eager to see the man again. James considered the man a self-important stuffy aristocrat, and coming from James that was a mouthful.
There had been a welcoming dinner in Lord Bristol's honor at the Governors home. Dinner had gone relatively well, probably because Lord Bristol had his mouth full of food most of the time, and had done no more than throw out a few dozen insults about the meal and the wine, not like you could obtain in England you know. Governor Swann had been the brunt of the man's attention when he had finally stopped eating. After the meal the men had adjourned to the patio to have their after dinner drinks, leaving the women to carry on their own conversations.
They had been out there for quite a while when Lord Bristol addressed Norrington, "Wouldn't you agree Commodore Norrington?" James who had lost interest in the man's conversation long ago had been daydreaming of a hot bath and a soft bed, and had no clue what he was suppose to be agreeing to. Regaining his composure in fleeting seconds he answered, "Lord Bristol, I would defer to your esteemed opinion on the matter." This seemed to satisfy the Lord and he continued to speak to the rest gathered around him.
James thought to himself, "I must really pay more attention to the man, he surely can't go on much longer!"
Movement out beyond the patio's low wall distracted him then, somebody moving through the trees and bushes there. It was too dark for him to make out who it was, but used it as an excuse to pardon himself and investigate. Normally he would have sent one of his men, but he could not put up with the long-winded man any longer!
"I hate to interrupt Lord Bristol, but I must excuse myself, there is a matter of importance I must attend to." James said.
"Well Commodore, I would think that my business here would be a matter of importance to you! I suppose if that is not the case then you are free to take your leave." Lord Bristol said haughtily.
"I beg your pardon sir, but this is something I must attend to personally. Governor Swann, Lord Bristol, I will see you in the morning no doubt." Norrington said as he started to make his exit.
"I shall hope the breakfast surpasses the excuse for a dinner we were forced to endure tonight!" Lord Bristol said in his haughty tone.
"I will do my best to make sure it is to your liking Lord Bristol!" Norrington replied, suppressing a grimace.
"See that you do sir!" the Lord replied.
James went down the steps on the side of the patio and headed around the corner of the house in the direction the person he had seen was headed. He stopped when someone came out of the house in front of him and started off in the direction James had been walking. "Miss Swann?" James said questioningly.
Elizabeth whirled around in surprise. "Commodore Norrington, what are you doing out here?"
"I should be asking you the same thing. It's not proper for a young woman of your station to be prowling around the grounds this late at night." James said disapprovingly.
"You sound like my Father now Commodore, and that wasn't meant as a compliment." Elizabeth answered. "Besides I was bored listening to all the gossip going on in there. You may have been interested though Commodore," she said, a smile appearing on her face, "Quite a bit of it had to do with you!"
James replied. "The bain of my existence, Mothers and their single daughters!"
"Now Commodore, you are the most eligible bachelor on the island you know!" Elizabeth said with a laugh.
"There are other bachelors that are just as eligible as I Miss Swann! I don't understand why they insist on throwing their daughters at me!" James said disgustedly.
"Must be the uniform Commodore" Elizabeth answered stifling another laugh.
"Indeed!" James said, " Now Miss Swann, may I escort you back inside?"
"Actually, I think I will go see Will for a while." Elizabeth said.
"How is young Mr. Turner?" James asked. Although he couldn't fathom the reason Elizabeth would choose Turner over him, he had done the honorable thing and stepped aside. He and Elizabeth had become quite close friends in the meantime. James had even become friends with Will in a manner also, more for Elizabeth's benefit than anything else. Then thinking about the person he had seen lurking about in the bushes he added, "I think it would be advisable for you to have an escort Miss Swann, seeing the lateness of the hour."
"That would be acceptable Commodore, we can talk about Will on the way." Elizabeth said.
"My favorite subject!" James muttered to himself.
"Did you say something Commodore?" Elizabeth asked.
"Nothing worth repeating Miss Swann." James said.
They arrived at the Blacksmith shop and going around to the side climbed the stairs to Will's room. Elizabeth knocked lightly, not wanting to wake Will if he were already asleep. The door was answered almost before she had finished.
"Elizabeth! Is something wrong? What brings you here at this late hour?" Will said with concern in his voice.
"Everything is fine Will, I was just bored at the dinner and decided to come and see you. Commodore Norrington was kind enough to accompany me."
"Commodore! How…How… nice to see you!" Will blurted out upon noticing the Commodore, then did a quick look back over his shoulder into his room.
"Is something wrong Mr. Turner?" James asked with slight suspicion in his voice.
"Wrong? Here? What could be wrong? No everything is just fine Commodore.
Just fine and dandy!" Will said a little too loud.
"Will, you are forgetting your manners!" Elizabeth said smacking him on the arm, "Aren't you going to invite us in?"
"In?... In here?" and taking another look over his shoulder he said, "I'm sorry, Elizabeth, Commodore please come in."
Will fixed tea for everyone and they sat at the table talking.
"What are you looking for Mr. Turner?" James said noticing Will's eyes darting around the room.
"Looking for? Oh looking for!" and then, "I seemed to have misplaced my hammer. I thought I might have left it in here." Will said very unconvincingly.
"William! What is going on? You never misplace your tools!" Elizabeth said not believing a word Will was saying.
"Yes Mr. Turner!" James said as he got up and started to peruse the room, "By all means do explain."
"You're not going to like this!" Will said.
To Be Continued
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