Something Better

The sword fell to the deck with a clang. "James!" Elizabeth cried in shock, her eyes wide with the horror of having held a sword to his throat.

Chapter 7: An Awkward Moment

Annalise stared as her mother's sword clattered to the deck. Her mother's voice sounded bereft of its usual harshness, stripped down to a girl-like cry that made Annalise's eyes widen.

"James?" Annalise murmured softly, her eyes trailing over the man. But she already knew, didn't she? She'd known it the instant the man's sea green eyes had met her's and he whispered her mother's name. "James Norrington?" She said louder, wonderingly. He wasn't really what she had expected at all. He was sopping wet, his dark hair hanging limply before his face and the beginnings of a scruffy beard present. He looked… well, he looked like a pirate.

At the sound of his name, his marvelously green eyes had redirected their gaze back to her. "You know my name?" He'd said, so seriously and with such confusion that Annalise nearly laughed. As it was a smile creeped onto her face, perhaps he was the man her mother had spoken of.

"Of course." She replied softly, "Mother told me all about you." The confusion seemed to increase in the man's eyes. He turned to look at her mother once again. She seemed to be gathering her wits back about her, but there was something in her mother's eyes that startled Annalise. A strange mix of relief, delight, and pain was evident there, free for all the world to see. Annalise bit her lip suddenly; her mother's guard was down. The walls she built around herself to keep herself strong had cracked. If Norrington died again… Annalise swallowed hard, now there was yet another reason she had to keep Calypso from being bound.

"William," She heard her mother say softly, "Take James below. Find him some dry clothing. I'll see him in the captain's quarters when he's ready." She stepped backwards, retreating from James' surprised expression into the safety of her ship. Annalise stared after her mother. She'd never seen her quite so flustered before.

"So, James Norrington?" She heard her brother say. "Nice to meet my namesake."

"Wouldn't William be after your father?" Norrington's voice replied with an amused tone.

"William James Turner." Her brother replied back. "And you've met Anna." Annalise turned suddenly to take in the sight of James Norrington now standing beside her brother, who gestured carelessly at her. A smirk appeared on his face, "You'll have to forgive Anna, she's had the biggest crush on you ever since mother first made the mistake of telling her your story." William shook his head dramatically, "Since then your's is the only one she's ever wanted to hear."

Annalise felt her mouth drop open. "William!" She sputtered pointlessly, as her brother had begun to drag Norrington away before the shocked man could respond. Her temper flared. How dare her brother say such things! She trembled in anger and frustration, stepping over to the ship's railing with short, clipped steps. She looked out at the horizon. The sun was low in the sky, filling the sails with a fragile golden light. She took a deep breath, quieting the thousands of thoughts that meandered through her mind. But one disappointed murmuring seemed to stick like a thorn. He looked like a pirate.

"Well, isn't that interesting." Annalise heard her brother say, strolling up to her side.

"Isn't what interesting?" She inquired lightly.

"Well, first you announce to the Pirate Brethren that you've agreed to represent Calypso, then you tell mother that if you don't succeed someone you won't reveal will die. Then, out of the blue, the man you've worshipped since you were five appears suddenly on our ship after nearly twenty-eight years of being dead." Her brother's voice held a cold edge to it.

"It is interesting, isn't it?" She heard herself reply flatly, refusing to met her brother's eyes.

Her brother gave a frustrated sigh. "What did Calypso offer you in return for representing her?"

Annalise turned to face William, a sad look in her eyes. "Anything." She whispered wistfully.

"And you chose Norrington, didn't you?" Her brother spat back. He ran a hand through his short hair agitatedly. "You could have freed father!"

"You think I don't know that?" Annalise cried suddenly, anger flashing in her eyes. "I never told her what I wanted in return, William!" She stared at her brother, desperate for his understanding. "She just stared at me for a long moment, and I don't know, looked into my heart or something. And suddenly she up and decides what I want."

Her dark eyes looked up at her brother pleadingly, begging for his understanding. "And," He began slowly, "You'd just been daydreaming, hadn't you?" Annalise nodded slowly, the fire in her eyes quieting, filled with a heavy sorrow instead.

Her brother exhaled slowly, leaning on the railing beside her and letting his eyes trail out to the horizon. "You know if he dies, mother will be crushed?"

"I know." Annalise whispered in reply. "I want to be able to fix all this." She looked at her brother who met her eyes.

He smiled weakly, lifting a hand to muss her hair the way he had when she was just a child. "You know I'm here for you, Anna." He said softly, pulling her into a hug. "You don't have to do this all alone."

Annalise nodded gently as he brother left her side, returning back below deck to escort Norrington to her mother's quarters. She turned back towards the setting sun, letting its vivid dying rays splash over her features. She closed her eyes, letting the sea breeze work its way through her tangled hair.

The sound of a man clearing his throat behind her nearly made her jump. She spun around to face… the most handsome man she'd ever seen in her life. Clean shaven, with his dark hair brushed back and held in place with a ribbon, James Norrington's features took on a dignity she hadn't observed when he'd first splashed onto the deck before her. She felt her breathe catch slightly in her throat, as his sea-green eyes looked at her calmly. "I was hoping you could direct me to the Captain's Quarters, Miss Turner." He said softly.

Annalise nodded dumbly. Never in her life had she ever been addressed as Miss Turner. Suddenly, all her dreams and private fairy tales flooded back over her. Mentally, she pushed them away, the real James Norrington was better than she'd dreamt. After a long moment, she realized how silly she must look, staring at him silently. "It's this way." She blurted out suddenly. "Here, I'll take you there." She winced at herself as she stepped in front of him to lead.

A heavy silence sat awkwardly between the two as they walked along the deck. "So," Annalise began uncomfortably, "How long have you been alive? Again?" She felt like hitting her head against the railing of the ship. What had possessed her to ask that?

"I believe it's been seven days." He replied, his rich voice carrying undertones of amusement.

"That's exciting." The day after I made the deal with Calypso then, she thought to herself hazily. It seemed as if so much longer than a week had passed since then. "I mean," she stumbled over her words, "It must have been strange to be alive again."

"You've no idea." Norrington replied, his tone unreadable this time.

Annalise felt vaguely uncomfortable. What if he hadn't wanted to come back to life? What right had she had to have him summoned back to the world of the living? "Do you… that is, are you alright with being alive again?" She heard herself ask softly. She found herself at the door to her mother's quarters, and turned to pull them open for Norrington. She found herself face-to-face with his handsome visage.

He looked thoughtful. "It feels strange," He said finally, as if admitting some deep, dark emotion, "To have somehow lost nearly thirty years worth of time." He met her dark eyes. "Though," he continued, "I cannot say I'm not entirely pleased with having been given a second chance."

A long pause hung between the pair. "Thank you, Miss Turner." He said suddenly, straightening his shoulders and pulling open the door to the captain's quarters, "I rather doubt I could have located these rooms by myself."

Annalise stood still as the door closed and a chill breeze blew against her face. Had he meant that sarcastically, or seriously?


Sleep refused to come that night to Annalise. Exhaustedly, she wandered up onto the deck. She stared out at the stars reflecting off the sea's surface. She walked up the railing and leaned against it tiredly. Even as the stakes climbed, the task she'd set upon herself seemed to grow more impossible. "Calypso," She heard herself murmur, "I don't know that I can do this."

"Wha' ya be talkin' 'bout?" The voice of the goddess twisted through the air. Annalise turned around in surprise, to find herself face-to-face with the goddess. She wore an amused expression upon her features. "You bought y'urself time, girl." Her accent lent her words a strange heaviness. "T'ings will come to ye." She winked wickedly. "De man did."

"But they won't listen to me." Annalise said miserably. "And mother won't even agree with me!"

"Giv' et time." Calyso replied lightly.

"Time?"Annalise cried, forgetting to be quiet. "How much time do you think you have? The Brethren are meeting again in four days to decide. Four days!" She stared at the goddess in disbelief. "You need to offer them some sort of deal. Otherwise they'll never come around!"

Calypso looked at Annalise for a long moment. "Ya father." She nodded slowly to herself. "Ya father can go free." Her dark eyes narrowed as they met Annalise's own. "Dat's it." With that she strolled into the shadows of the ship until the darkness of her form melted into the darkness of the night.

Annalise nodded rapidly, her disbelief heightened. Her father could be free of the Flying Dutchman, what more could she ask for really? Better yet, with that offer on the table, her mother would have to change her mind. A smile worked its way onto her features, as she remained blissfully unaware of the clouds rapidly blacking out the stars.

Annalise suddenly grabbed the rail, the wind was picking up rapidly, more rapidly than she'd ever known it to. The smile left her lips as insecurity blossomed in her stomach. The roar and slosh of water made her turn around, only in time for a huge dark wave to rise up in her face, lifting her off the deck and pulling her into the suddenly rough waters below. A muffled scream escaped her lips as her world dissolved into dark water and a frenzy of bubbles.