*Authors Note*
~I'd like to give a shout out to the British Navy for being so darned cool in the seventeen and eighteen hundreds.~
The Battle of Port Royal
---------------
Port Royal
Commodore Edward Norrington awoke hours before first light, his night shirt drenched in sweat. It was the same dream coming two sometimes three times a week. He stood before his superiors in full dress uniform, clapped in irons about to be hung. Each time he had looked at his executioner it had been that damned pirate, Jack Sparrow, and each time he pulled the lever that would lead to his certain death Edward would wake up, panting and gasping for breath. He cursed the wretched man under his breath, for haunting his dreams. He rose thinking he was aboard the Gauntlet, but realized, as he didn't have to stoop, that he was indeed staying in a room at the Governor's house, per Governor Swann's request. It was a drab little space with a rumpled beige quilt lying on the floor, where Edward had tossed it in his restless sleep. A writing table and chair graced the wall under a casement window, a small chest was nestled beside the bed, and a portrait of Elizabeth hung over a seldom used fireplace. Other than those furnishings the room was bare as bones. He couldn't help but stare at the painting. She appeared to be captured in eternal youth, perhaps sixteen or seventeen.
"No wonder I can't sleep. With you watching me." He muttered to the image. "That damned pirate of yours... Both of them." He shook his head trying to dislodge his hectic thoughts. It had been nearly a week since he had see William Turner sneaking out of that very house. No doubt to rejoin the crew of the Black Pearl. Norrington could almost sneer. He was pushing the Port Admiral to give him orders to hunt that cursed ship. He knew that if, somehow, he put an end to Jack Sparrow, and if William Turner happened to die in the resulting battle, that Elizabeth would turn to him for comfort, and then she would be his.
All he had ever wanted was a great career as a navel officer, and a good woman who loved him. He figured that was not much to ask of God, and he prayed every night for a chance to see his one dream come true. She was now, no doubt, above him nestled in her soft bed dreaming sweet dreams. Edward felt to anxious, being in that room with her staring down at him to return to sleep He decided instead, to see if he could find something to eat in the kitchen. Surly no one would mind if he had a little snack to settle his stomach, and his mind. He went to the chest and, after digging for a moment, produced a light blue robe, which he put on.
____________
Elizabeth was not resting peacefully, as Norrington imagined, but quite awake and pacing her room. She too was suffering from bad dreams. The ghastly Captain Barbossa had been about to slit Will's throat over a chest of gold and she had woke up screaming, reaching out to save him. She thought to herself that it was childish to still be dreaming of her pirate adventure, if one could call it that, after so many months. But the images would not die. The cursed undead roamed freely in her dreams, even if they all were truly dead now. Put to the gallows by Commodore Norrington himself after they surrendered aboard the Gauntlet. It did not help that Will was at sea aboard the very vessel that so many unnatural things had happened on. She was worried for him, and Jack, she silently amended. Pirates do tend to get in trouble from time to time. She just wished they would be able to handle themselves come what may. Her hand absently reach up to caress the gold necklace Will had brought her on his last visit. He had paid Betty to put it on her pillow as a surprise, along with a note.
"Oh Will, I wish you would come back again." She sighed to the wall unhappy of her current situation.
It was a muffled bang that broke her of her reverie. Elizabeth's ears perked up as she opened her door listening quietly. She paused for a moment longer before making her way downstairs in nothing more than her nightgown. As she approached the dining room she heard a soft oath emanate from the kitchen. She realized then that it was Norrington, and frowned, half expecting it to be a pirate pillaging her cupboard for rum, preferably a pirate she loved, or at least thought of as a trusted friend. Elizabeth decided, after another moment's hesitation, to see what exactly Norrington was up to and softly, as not to scare him, she entered the kitchen.
"Commodore." She whispered. "What ever are you after at this hour?"
Norrington jumped like he had gotten caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He was kneeling down mopping up a puddle of spilled water with a soggy towel.
"Miss Swann!" He gasped as he stood up. "Please... Please forgive me. I... I didn't mean to wake you."
"No, it's all right. I was awake. I heard a crash. What happened?"
"I'm afraid I broke a pitcher bumping around in the dark. Are you sure I didn't wake you?"
"I'm quite sure Commodore, I... had a bad dream, and couldn't sleep anyway."
"Please, it's nearly 3 o'clock, call me Edward." He tried to smile, but was to nervous.
"What are you doing up so late?" She asked.
"I couldn't sleep either. I'm, ah, not used to sleeping on land." He hoped desperately she would buy his story. He didn't feel it was right to admit weakness, especially to a woman he admired so much. "You said you had a bad dream?"
"Yes, I'm not sure if you remember, but about four months ago I was kidnapped by undead pirates. The memory kind of sticks in one's mind." She smiled, trying to show him that she wasn't being rude with her sarcasm.
"Yes, yes, of course. I'm so sorry. Of course something like that would be traumatic. Especially for a sensitive woman." He meant it as a compliment.
"I'm sorry Commodore, but I happen to think I handled the whole situation rather well. I was brave in the face of danger and I walked away feeling that I did everything possible to help Jack and Will. As well as those poor souls that were cursed for so many years. Even if you did kill them all. So what if I have a few bad dreams. It all felt like some waking dream instead of reality anyway."
"Yes, yes. You are right, please, forgive my impudence. But you must realize that your William and that wretched Jack Sparrow are still out there breaking the law. One day, Miss Swann, their deeds will catch up with them, and you won't be there to stand in the way."
"Oh! And I suppose you're the man who's going to catch them Commodore Norrington? I'm sure it would make you very famous. I'm sure you'd be the toast of Port Royal, and half the Caribbean, I'm leaving out the pirates, you'd be famous among them all right, but I'm positive they won't toast you, unless it's over your dead body. But you forget one thing Sir, I am still standing between them and you, because if you think that by getting rid of the competition you can have me all wrapped up in a nice wedding bundle you've got another thing coming. I wouldn't have you if you were the last man on earth, savvy?"
Norrington stared at her dumbfounded. Her eloquent oath was more than his heart could bare.
"Fine. Fine, don't have me for your husband, but if you think I will stop hunting Jack Sparrow you're wrong. It's my job, no duty, to make sure that the sea's are safe for travelers and merchants alike. I will not let your lover and his insane Captain gallivant all over God's water stealing whatever they think is of any value."
She smacked him then. "I do believe, Commodore Norrington, that you have over stepped your bounds. I do not bid you good evening."
With that she turned on her heal and calmly walked to her room, wishing for all the world that she had not left it in the first place. Ever since Jack Sparrow had come into her life everything had turned upside down. She had fallen in love with a budding pirate, chose lawlessness over common sense, and now she had slighted Commodore Norrington, who, given the right circumstances, could be a very dangerous man. Especially to Will, Jack, and the entire crew of the Black Pearl. What ever was she going to do? She had no idea where The Pearl was, or how to reach them, yet still she had seen something in Norrington's eyes that had frightened her. Her head began to ache from worry as she flopped on her bed. A plan, somehow, she needed a plan, she just had to warn Will. Norrington was out for blood.
*Authors Note*
~I'm so sorry it took me so long to get this chapter up. It would have been finished sooner, but instead of spending my off days writing this past week I attended a concert, then went fishing. Jack, Anne, and Will in the next chapter. I know that this one was kinda slow, but I needed to set it up. Hope you liked it anyway.~
~I'd like to give a shout out to the British Navy for being so darned cool in the seventeen and eighteen hundreds.~
The Battle of Port Royal
---------------
Port Royal
Commodore Edward Norrington awoke hours before first light, his night shirt drenched in sweat. It was the same dream coming two sometimes three times a week. He stood before his superiors in full dress uniform, clapped in irons about to be hung. Each time he had looked at his executioner it had been that damned pirate, Jack Sparrow, and each time he pulled the lever that would lead to his certain death Edward would wake up, panting and gasping for breath. He cursed the wretched man under his breath, for haunting his dreams. He rose thinking he was aboard the Gauntlet, but realized, as he didn't have to stoop, that he was indeed staying in a room at the Governor's house, per Governor Swann's request. It was a drab little space with a rumpled beige quilt lying on the floor, where Edward had tossed it in his restless sleep. A writing table and chair graced the wall under a casement window, a small chest was nestled beside the bed, and a portrait of Elizabeth hung over a seldom used fireplace. Other than those furnishings the room was bare as bones. He couldn't help but stare at the painting. She appeared to be captured in eternal youth, perhaps sixteen or seventeen.
"No wonder I can't sleep. With you watching me." He muttered to the image. "That damned pirate of yours... Both of them." He shook his head trying to dislodge his hectic thoughts. It had been nearly a week since he had see William Turner sneaking out of that very house. No doubt to rejoin the crew of the Black Pearl. Norrington could almost sneer. He was pushing the Port Admiral to give him orders to hunt that cursed ship. He knew that if, somehow, he put an end to Jack Sparrow, and if William Turner happened to die in the resulting battle, that Elizabeth would turn to him for comfort, and then she would be his.
All he had ever wanted was a great career as a navel officer, and a good woman who loved him. He figured that was not much to ask of God, and he prayed every night for a chance to see his one dream come true. She was now, no doubt, above him nestled in her soft bed dreaming sweet dreams. Edward felt to anxious, being in that room with her staring down at him to return to sleep He decided instead, to see if he could find something to eat in the kitchen. Surly no one would mind if he had a little snack to settle his stomach, and his mind. He went to the chest and, after digging for a moment, produced a light blue robe, which he put on.
____________
Elizabeth was not resting peacefully, as Norrington imagined, but quite awake and pacing her room. She too was suffering from bad dreams. The ghastly Captain Barbossa had been about to slit Will's throat over a chest of gold and she had woke up screaming, reaching out to save him. She thought to herself that it was childish to still be dreaming of her pirate adventure, if one could call it that, after so many months. But the images would not die. The cursed undead roamed freely in her dreams, even if they all were truly dead now. Put to the gallows by Commodore Norrington himself after they surrendered aboard the Gauntlet. It did not help that Will was at sea aboard the very vessel that so many unnatural things had happened on. She was worried for him, and Jack, she silently amended. Pirates do tend to get in trouble from time to time. She just wished they would be able to handle themselves come what may. Her hand absently reach up to caress the gold necklace Will had brought her on his last visit. He had paid Betty to put it on her pillow as a surprise, along with a note.
"Oh Will, I wish you would come back again." She sighed to the wall unhappy of her current situation.
It was a muffled bang that broke her of her reverie. Elizabeth's ears perked up as she opened her door listening quietly. She paused for a moment longer before making her way downstairs in nothing more than her nightgown. As she approached the dining room she heard a soft oath emanate from the kitchen. She realized then that it was Norrington, and frowned, half expecting it to be a pirate pillaging her cupboard for rum, preferably a pirate she loved, or at least thought of as a trusted friend. Elizabeth decided, after another moment's hesitation, to see what exactly Norrington was up to and softly, as not to scare him, she entered the kitchen.
"Commodore." She whispered. "What ever are you after at this hour?"
Norrington jumped like he had gotten caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He was kneeling down mopping up a puddle of spilled water with a soggy towel.
"Miss Swann!" He gasped as he stood up. "Please... Please forgive me. I... I didn't mean to wake you."
"No, it's all right. I was awake. I heard a crash. What happened?"
"I'm afraid I broke a pitcher bumping around in the dark. Are you sure I didn't wake you?"
"I'm quite sure Commodore, I... had a bad dream, and couldn't sleep anyway."
"Please, it's nearly 3 o'clock, call me Edward." He tried to smile, but was to nervous.
"What are you doing up so late?" She asked.
"I couldn't sleep either. I'm, ah, not used to sleeping on land." He hoped desperately she would buy his story. He didn't feel it was right to admit weakness, especially to a woman he admired so much. "You said you had a bad dream?"
"Yes, I'm not sure if you remember, but about four months ago I was kidnapped by undead pirates. The memory kind of sticks in one's mind." She smiled, trying to show him that she wasn't being rude with her sarcasm.
"Yes, yes, of course. I'm so sorry. Of course something like that would be traumatic. Especially for a sensitive woman." He meant it as a compliment.
"I'm sorry Commodore, but I happen to think I handled the whole situation rather well. I was brave in the face of danger and I walked away feeling that I did everything possible to help Jack and Will. As well as those poor souls that were cursed for so many years. Even if you did kill them all. So what if I have a few bad dreams. It all felt like some waking dream instead of reality anyway."
"Yes, yes. You are right, please, forgive my impudence. But you must realize that your William and that wretched Jack Sparrow are still out there breaking the law. One day, Miss Swann, their deeds will catch up with them, and you won't be there to stand in the way."
"Oh! And I suppose you're the man who's going to catch them Commodore Norrington? I'm sure it would make you very famous. I'm sure you'd be the toast of Port Royal, and half the Caribbean, I'm leaving out the pirates, you'd be famous among them all right, but I'm positive they won't toast you, unless it's over your dead body. But you forget one thing Sir, I am still standing between them and you, because if you think that by getting rid of the competition you can have me all wrapped up in a nice wedding bundle you've got another thing coming. I wouldn't have you if you were the last man on earth, savvy?"
Norrington stared at her dumbfounded. Her eloquent oath was more than his heart could bare.
"Fine. Fine, don't have me for your husband, but if you think I will stop hunting Jack Sparrow you're wrong. It's my job, no duty, to make sure that the sea's are safe for travelers and merchants alike. I will not let your lover and his insane Captain gallivant all over God's water stealing whatever they think is of any value."
She smacked him then. "I do believe, Commodore Norrington, that you have over stepped your bounds. I do not bid you good evening."
With that she turned on her heal and calmly walked to her room, wishing for all the world that she had not left it in the first place. Ever since Jack Sparrow had come into her life everything had turned upside down. She had fallen in love with a budding pirate, chose lawlessness over common sense, and now she had slighted Commodore Norrington, who, given the right circumstances, could be a very dangerous man. Especially to Will, Jack, and the entire crew of the Black Pearl. What ever was she going to do? She had no idea where The Pearl was, or how to reach them, yet still she had seen something in Norrington's eyes that had frightened her. Her head began to ache from worry as she flopped on her bed. A plan, somehow, she needed a plan, she just had to warn Will. Norrington was out for blood.
*Authors Note*
~I'm so sorry it took me so long to get this chapter up. It would have been finished sooner, but instead of spending my off days writing this past week I attended a concert, then went fishing. Jack, Anne, and Will in the next chapter. I know that this one was kinda slow, but I needed to set it up. Hope you liked it anyway.~