Becoming a Pirate

James Norrington awoke with a pain in his shoulder and exhaustion in his bones. He frowned as he began to slip away from unconsciousness, reluctantly opening his eyes against the soft light brushing his eyelashes.

At first, he was confused as he looked at his surroundings. He was onboard a ship, no doubt about that, but by no means was it the hauntingly eerie and sea drenched Dutchman. He was in what appeared to be the captain's cabin, though one of the walls was patched up rather crudely with nailed on splinters of wood and cloth, and the room was cluttered and had obviously been cleared up hastily and half-heartedly. From what he could tell from the intact furnishings and décor, the ship's interior was oriental. Where am I? he thought.

"The Empress," said a soft voice. Norrington twisted his head around at the sound, wincing a little when his wounded shoulder blazed with agony.

Elizabeth was standing in the archway leading to the cabin, near the bed where he had been lain on. Her dark blond hair was tied in a messy bun and she wore loose trousers and shirt, a sword in a belt at her waist. She was fiddling with what appeared to be a necklace around her neck, twisting it in her slender fingers. She was silhouetted against dim, yellow light from hanging lanterns, a sad expression tainting her beautiful face. Norrington he must have spoken out loud for her to answer back.

"Elizabeth" he mumbled, the word sluggish on his lips. He tried to sit up but grimaced and groaned when pain shot up his shoulder blade, the scab over the wound opening up a little.

"Don't get up!" she said, gently pushing him down with concern and sitting on the bed beside him. He obeyed and settled down into the soft cushions. "James, I thought I'd lost you!" she sobbed.

"But I'm here now," he replied with a small, reassuring smile. "I've made my choice."

"Really?" she said, a hint of bitterness in her tone. "You've decided to help us? Decided to fight Beckett and his men?"

"Yes" Norrington answered confidently.

"You know that there is no going back," Elizabeth said, her dark eyes trying to pierce his own. "That from now on you are a pirate."

Ah. Pirate. A word he had despised for years as a marine in the Royal Navy. It was his job to track down the wretched brigands and make sure justice was done.

True, in the past he had once lost his position and had been reduced to, as Jack Sparrow had said, "a rum-pot deckhand that takes orders form pirates." But that had been a horrible mistake, and he had got his reward in the end.

Or had he? What reward was there in joining Beckett's evil schemes to rid the sea of any sailor that had no allegiance to him? He had been so blind; that man was repulsive and he had been too ignorant to realise the truth.

Elizabeth laughed humourlessly. "Of course. You could never accept that kind of life, could you?"

Norrington remained silent for a while. "I regret any faults I have made in the past. By helping you and the other…pirates (that word was difficult to say)… perhaps I can repent for the wrongs I have done. I have only ever wanted to do the right thing. And that is the honest truth."

Elizabeth smiled, leaning forward. Norrington gulped and his heart skipped a beat.

"I need to rebandage your wound" she said. Norrington's spirit dropped. Another time he promised himself.

Elizabeth's fingers were as gentle as a summer breeze, yet she couldn't stop the fire in his blood as she peeled away the crimson bandages. As she began to patch the gun wound up again, Norrington asked "How did you come to be captain of this ship? Wait, tell me everything that has happened ever since Isla Cruzes."

Elizabeth recounted her story, starting off with the fight with the infamous Kraken, her acts of betrayal to Captain Jack (the guilt was obvious in her voice); the remaining crew's decision to rescue Jack and the resurrection of Hector Barbossa; their journey to Singapore; meeting Sao Feng and their finding of the ancient charts that led to Worlds' End; reaching the impossible realm of Davy Jones' Locker and saving Jack; Will's treachery (her voice was hard and sad at the same time here) which ended in Barbossa trading her to Sao Feng for The Black Pearl. She told him that Sao Feng thought she was Calypso and that he had made her captain of The Empress after he was mortally wounded. Norrington knew the rest of the story from there.

"A long and complicated tale" he said as he shifted on the bed.

"Yes" she agreed, though she seemed withdrawn. He knew her thoughts were with Will. He sighed.

"You were always destined to become a pirate, weren't you?" he asked her. "Ever since you got involved with Sparrow and Turner."

She nodded. "I never knew the same fate applied to you to, of all people." She paused, then smiled. "Well, if you're to be a pirate, then you'd better start looking like one."

"Excuse-me?" he said, one of his arched eyebrows rising.

"You can't walk around pirates dressed like an Admiral," she explained. "It would be like putting a sheep with wolves."

"You associate me with a sheep and pirates with wolves?" he asked with a small smile.

"Figure of speech," she said rising. "I'll go get you some different clothes."

"Wait!" he cried.

Elizabeth spun around to face him again. "Yes?"

"Where are we headed?"

"Shipwreck City," she replied. "Found in Shipwreck Cove on Shipwreck Island."

"Unimaginative lot, these pirates."

Next chapter coming soon, people! Reviews are very welcome! Hoped you enjoyed my story.