AN./ It is I, Silvertongued Dreams, back again! I am Silvertongued Dreams: hear me roar! LOL.

Hope you all enjoy this chapter: Norrington again! Hooray! This chapter is for my good friend, elanordaughterofeowyn, in honor of her birthday, which is TODAY! Happy birthday! Hope you like it, luv.

I apologize if this is not a great chapter… I was a bit sick when I wrote this :P

I HAVE PUT A POLL UP ON MY PROFILE! Please vote for which story you wish me to work on next. I only have three votes so far... and the voting ends next week! Thanks!

Please R&R! Reviews are much appreciated, and help me to keep on writing! Enjoy.

~ Norrieo


Chapter Nine: A Walk Along The Beach

It had been about a week since the 'incident' at Miss Simmons' residence, and since then, Gillette and his cousin Elanor had tried to keep away from any social gatherings, as Julia loved spreading the tale of how she chased two upstanding Naval officers away with a feather duster. Of course, in retrospect, Julia realized how silly it had been to do such a thing… and she told the story merely for her own amusement.

It was on one particular morning that James Norrington arrived at Fort Charles before sunrise, and made his way into his recently refurbished office.

"Good morning, Captain Norrington," Lieutenant Theodore Groves—a young man barely two years older than James—said with reverence.

"Top of them morning, Lieutenant Groves," Norrington returned with a brief smile. "Has the admiralty sent us more of that paperwork?"

"I'm afraid they have, Captain."

Norrington sighed. "Oh, what I would give for a mission! This paperwork is not meant for men like us, Groves. We are fighters! And we should be out on the open sea, exterminating those pirate vermin!"

"I… completely agree with you, sir," Groves returned a little hesitantly. Although he was supposed to hate pirates with a vengeance, he could not help but admire their courageous and fantastical lives… in a way.

"Ah," Norrington sighed. "Well, I suppose there is nothing for it. More requisition orders?"

"Those can only be signed by decree of Governor Weatherby Swann, Captain Norrington," Groves commented.

Norrington barely shifted his gaze from his paperwork. "Of that I am most aware, Lieutenant," he returned kindly. "Very well, hand them over, and I shall deliver them to the mansion myself."

Just then, there was a gentle tap on the door.

"Enter," Norrington said routinely as he stared down at the map on his desk.

"Oh! I am so sorry to interrupt," came Elanor's familiar voice, and James's ears perked up.

"Miss Westfall," Norrington said, instantly rising from his chair, as did Lieutenant Groves.

"Hello," she said nervously, taking in both of the comely, attractive men who stood before her, on the verge of gaping at her. "Captain, I merely came to—"

"James, she was merely accompanying me—please, don't be vexed," Gillette groaned, walking in, doubled-over.

Norrington raised his eyebrows. "Gillette, you look terrible."

"Thank you for stating the obvious," Gillette spluttered. "I'm not feeling very well."

"Perhaps you should stay at home: get some bed rest," Norrington said, his voice filled with a little concern.

"Thank you, really, but I will be all right," Gillette returned with a queasy smile.

"Then, if it is all the same to you, Phillip, I shall take leave. Groves—those requisition orders?"

Groves, who had been staring at Elanor, with his mouth wide open, this whole time, suddenly broke from his trance-like state.

"There you are, Captain," Groves returned, quickly handing Norrington the required papers. "Is there anything else that you require?"

"Oh, erm… keep an eye on Lieutenant Gillette, will you?" he returned with a quick smirk. Then, he turned to Elanor. "Miss Westfall, would you care to accompany me? It is just a short walk across the beach to the Governor's mansion."

"I—I'd be delighted!" she exclaimed, taking his arm.

Upon that assent, Norrington approached her, and offered his arm, which she took readily.

"We shall be back in about a half-hour, Groves… should everything go as planned," Norrington returned.

"Very well, Captain."

And with that, the couple disappeared.

Once they were gone, Theodore Groves sighed dramatically.

"Groves?" Phillip Gillette asked, furrowing his brows. "What on Earth is running through that head of yours?"

Lieutenant Groves sighed yet again. "Why does the Captain alwaysalways get the ladies?"

Gillette looked at him strangely. "What?"

"It is quite obvious that that lovely angel that just manifested herself has an eye for our superior commander."

"Really?" Gillette asked, feigning cluelessness.

It was then that Groves noted the sarcastic note in his friend's voice. "You aren't really ill, are you?"

To this, Gillette merely sunk back in his chair, and smirked in a self-satisfied manner as he put his fingertips together repeatedly. "No. No, of course not."


"You know, I am very glad that you could accompany me, Miss Westfall," Norrington smiled, turning to look at her. "I am not used to such pleasant female company."

Elanor blushed bright pink, and hung her head slightly.

"Thank you, James," she whispered in an almost inaudible tone.

"For what, may I ask?" Norrington replied, his eyebrows rising a little.

"For… everything."

" 'Everything'? My dear, what, honestly, have I given you?"

"You gave me hope that summer. I—I was in such turmoil after I lost my mother… and, after I came here to get away from things… it was you who convinced me that there was still good in this woe-ridden world of ours."

"Sounds a bit over-romanticized, don't you think?" James returned, looking at her warmly.

"Not to me," she muttered silently.

"I am sorry," he returned in a low voice. "That was uncalled for, and I apologize."

"No, no… it is all right," Elanor returned. "Your honesty means more to me than anything else in the world."

Norrington let out a small chuckle, and scratched behind his ear nervously. "Yes, well… I think that the only reason I can allow myself to speak so frankly to you is because you are as dear to me as a sister."

For one, lingering moment, Elanor had a look of hope in her eyes: but it quickly died away. A sister? The more sensible part of her had expected such a reply, but never on her life could she have been prepared for the pain his words would unknowingly inflict.

In that moment, something withered inside of her, and she retreated deep inside herself, deciding not to show her pain to him—the last thing in the world she would want would be to make him feel miserable, in any sense.

— "Are you all right, Elanor?" James asked, his face leaning in tantalizingly close. Elanor had stopped walking, and her face had become all forlorn and pale.

"Oh, I—I'm fine," Elanor returned.

"Have I said something to vex you?" James asked with concern. When she did not respond, he tenderly took a strand of her hair, and tucked it behind her ear.

"Please—Please don't," she stammered, shrinking away.

"As you wish," he returned, looking slightly bemused and, perhaps, a bit hurt.

"I… am not feeling very well all of a sudden," Elanor said, almost out of breath. "I think that I should return home."

"So soon?" James asked in a disappointed tone.

"Yes, I am afraid so," she returned in a sorrowful tone. "I am feeling very… very ill…."

"Well, then, by all means, let me escort you back to the Fort—these requisition orders can wait," James returned with sincerity.

"No, no—you go on ahead. It is not that far: I can go along on my own."

"I am afraid that I cannot let you do that, my dear friend. I would not wish you to go unprotected."

"James, I'm fine!" she cried indignantly, jerking away from him. His eyes bulged slightly at her flared temper—something he had never before seen in her. "I am fine," she added in a softer tone. "Please, just go on. I'll meet you back at the Fort."

"Very well," Norrington replied, hesitantly giving in, and still confused about her shift in behavior. "Until then."

With those words, they departed, and he jogged toward the Governor's mansion, while Elanor Westfall's visage slowly faded into the distance.


"Elanor! I thought that you were with Captain Norrington," Gillette said, concern washing over his face as he saw her: the color drained from her face. He paused. "Did something happen, dear Cousin?"

"No… nothing of consequence," she returned with a forced smile. "If you are feeling better, Phillip, would you mind, very much, taking me home?"

"But of course," Gillette returned sweetly, wrapping an arm around Elanor's shoulders.

— "Miss Westfall," Lieutenant Theodore Groves's gentle and shy voice spoke up: "I should be more than glad to escort you back home. Lieutenant Gillette has much paperwork to complete—"

"—I do?(!)" Gillette cried indignantly, to which he got a warning stare from Groves. Phillip quickly cleared his throat. "Oh, right. I do."

"—So, if you do not feel at all uncomfortable, I would be honored to take you, in your cousin's stead."

Despite all that had just happened between her and James, Elanor could not help but smile. "I should be very glad of your company, Lieutenant Groves."

Groves raised a brow. "You… remember me?"

Gillette, in the background, could not help but smirk.

"Of course I do!" she exclaimed, smiling broadly. "I remember everyone who has made a deep impression on me."

Groves's cheeks flushed bright red, and Elanor, seeing this, smiled good-naturedly, and wound her arm in his as the lieutenant—speechless—escorted her out the door.


A gentle rap sounded Governor Weatherby Swann's office door, and Estrella the maid hastily entered, dipping an unceremonious curtsy, like she was in a rush.

"Governor Swann, Captain Norrington here to see you, Sir," she said, all out of breath.

"Oh! Goodness, Estrella, don't keep the good man waiting! Let him in!" the Governor returned with enthusiasm.

Within a few moment, Estrella had ducked out of the door, and the handsome James Norrington stepped in.

"Ah, Captain," the Governor greeted with a weak smile. "How very nice to see you. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Norrington stood up straight, hands folded behind his back. "Merely to deliver some requisition orders that need to be signed, sir."

"Ah, I see," Governor Swann replied, sighing, as though a bit disappointed in his response.

Without a word, Norrington cautiously handed him the papers, and the Governor quickly dipped his feather quill into the inkwell at his side: scratching the tip along the papers with ease as he made his elegant signature.

— "May I be bold enough as to inquire after Miss Elizabeth?" James asked after a few moments' silence.

"I am so glad you asked!" Governor Swann cried, his eyes beaming as he withdrew a letter from underneath the numerous papers on his desk. "She writes that she is well. I—I know that it has been six years since I sent her off to that finishing school in London, but… I will admit that there have been times that I have missed her terribly."

"It is only natural, Governor," Norrington returned with a forced smile. "I know that, if I had a child—" James halted himself. He did not want to go there right now. As it was, he had been struggling enough with immense desire for the pleasures of marriage—he did not need to amplify those feelings by dwelling on something that he did not yet have….

"Captain Norrington; the requisition orders are all signed, as requested," the Governor said, handing them in a neat pile back to Norrington.

James let out a slight gasp as the Governor's words forced him to emerge from the mental fog in which he had entrapped himself.

"Th…ank you, Governor Swann," Norrington replied: his brows furrowing for a moment as he wondered how he had allowed his mind to wander so extensively.

"Farewell, Captain," Governor Swann said good-naturedly.

"Farewell," James returned, exiting the office.


OK! So, hopefully, that clears up any of your doubts about Elizabeth not being around… and, elanordaughterofeowyn, I hope that you enjoyed this chappie! And the delicious Navy boy I gave you (wink wink, nudge nudge).