Commodore James Norrington of the Royal Navy stood on the deck of the HMS Dauntless, watching as he drew ever closer to Port Royal. He was already livid with anger at having lost track of Jack Sparrow. No matter how much he had helped during the entire misadventure all those years ago, he was a pirate, and causing more trouble than ever. Orders were shouted over his head as the crew prepared for docking, but he paid only half attention. His thoughts were on what he would tell Governor Swann.
"Commodore," said a young sailor as he rushed up then hurriedly gave a salute.
"Yes, Seaman Davies?" James turned to the young man and nodded permission to speak.
"We're ready to dock, sir, and the Governor is waiting for you."
"Thank you, Seaman. Proceed."
"Aye, sir." Davies headed off again to secure a few ropes that had come loose while the sails were furled. James walked over to the area that the gangplank would be placed once the Dauntless had been secured, and noticed Governor Weatherby Swann stood, looking more than a little agitated.
What now? thought James, stifling a groan. More bad news. That's all he ever got these days upon return to Port Royal. The last good news he'd heard was... he couldn't even remember. Could it be that the last time good news had come his way was when he'd heard those sweet words from Elizabeth Swann's mouth? The words that meant she'd marry him? Of course, that had ended in bad news, she turned on him--after agreeing to an engagement!--and married William Turner, a blacksmith. Jack Sparrow had gotten away, the Black Pearl was still roaming the Caribbean, attacking villages at will, and now Turner had joined him. James' lip curled at the thought. Turner was now on Sparrow's crew, leaving his wife all alone in Port Royal! Unfortunately, James had been away so much on expiditions to catch those pirates so he couldn't spend much time with Elizabeth.
He was roused from his thoughts by the gentle bump of the ship's hull against the dock, followed by shouts as men jumped to the dock and secured the mooring lines to the bollards. James stepped aside as the gangplank was lowered, then started down, hand folded together behind his back. His face a calm mask, he bowed to Swann.
"Good day, Governor Swann," he said politely, doing his best to ignore the rather pale state of Swann's face.
"Good day, Commodore Norrington. I'm afraid I have bad news." Swann started off for his mansion, James just behind him.
"What might that be?"
"Well, you remember that William Turner joined Jack Sparrow's crew quite a few years ago, leaving his wife and taking their child?"
James' lips tightened, and his answer was a little strained. "How could I forget?"
Swann either didn't notice, or didn't pay attention to that, and just plowed on. "He came back and took Elizabeth with him. She explained it all in a note. One day she was here, happy as can be to be in her home, the next, there was nothing left of her but a few sets of clothes and this note."
James missed a step at the news, but walked quicker and caught up to avoid missing anything. Swann held out a note scribbled on a small piece of paper. He took it and stopped a moment to read it, not even taking note of the fact that Swann stopped as well. His eyes widened as he read. Once finished, he looked up in disbelief at Swann.
"How can this be true, Governor?" he asked.
"Read it aloud."
Complying, James reread the letter.
Dearest Father,
Will has come for me, like he promised to, and I went. I love you
dearly, and Port Royal as well, but he is my husband, my love, and my
daughter is with him. I can't ignore that, I'm sure you understand. Give
my regards to Commodore Norrington, tell him that I don't expect him to
stop chasing after Jack just because of me. Remember always that I love
you, that will never change.
Love always from your daughter,
Elizabeth Turner
Blast the girl, she had to put her new last name on it, just to remind them who she was, and where her loyalty now laid. He looked up once again, eyes catching Swann's. "When did she leave?"
"A few days ago, in the afternoon. I was out at the office, working on town affairs, when one of the servants rushed in with the note. He said she left through the window, because none of them saw her leave."
James was speechless. He hadn't thought that Elizabeth would join the crew of the Black Pearl just to be with Turner, but now that he thought about it, it was the most likely thing to reunite the couple. Turner now had a price on his head close to that of Sparrow's; he was a large part of the captain's raids, being first mate. Had he returned to Port Royal and stayed, he would have been arrested and hung, no matter who he was married to.
"What are we going to do, Commodore?" Swann asked, heaving a heavy sigh and walking again.
"I don't see what we can do, Governor. Elizabeth has made her choice-- to be with Turner on the Black Pearl--and as little as we like it, I don't see that we can change it."
"Are you suggesting that we just leave her on a pirate ship? She could be killed!"
"What do you suggest?"
"Go after her," Swann said, breathless with concern, "talk some sense into her! I can't just leave my daughter on a pirate ship with Jack Sparrow, that man doesn't care for her safety, anything could happen!"
"Yet Turner does," James reminded Swann carefully. Sparrow could care or not as he pleased, but Turner was devoted to Elizabeth, James saw it in the blacksmith's eyes, and Turner wasn't about to let anything happen to her. He would die first. For all James' opinion of the man, he knew that much, and respected him for it.
"Yes, yes, the boy is in love with her, but what can he do against Sparrow? If the pirate gets something in his head then Elizabeth doesn't stand a chance!"
"Governor, you're letting your imagination run away with you. Turner and Sparrow are good friends, if Turner advises against something then Sparrow is very likely to listen to him."
"But what if he doesn't?"
"Calm down, man. Elizabeth will be fine." By James' tone he indicated the subject was closed. They walked quietly the rest of the way to the mansion, Swann deciding not to say anything more on the matter. After all, a Commodore in the Royal Navy ought to know about this sort of thing; what James said made sense.
They entered the front courtyard of the Governor's Mansion, there was a carriage parked in front of the large double doors. A servant was helping a lady down, and indicated with a bow that Swann and James were coming now. She came around the side of the white carriage, and he caught his first sight of her.
She was rather short, and would probably only come to his shoulder, if
that, but her hair was a delicate shade of red, the wavy locks reaching her
waist. Her blue eyes were large, and the exact shade of sapphire as the
Caribbean Sea. The dress she wore was a deep, wine red, setting off her
delicate features and making her blue eyes brighter than ever. It was
rather simple, in that there was little in the manner of lace or frill, but
it was made of crushed velvet, and had the elegance of good crafting.
Her aura, though, that was a different story. She carried herself with
pride and arrogance, as if she was used to barking orders and having them
obeyed. This was a woman that said frog and expected people to jump. He
was at once dazzled and disturbed, wondering how a woman could have such
elegance about her, yet be snobbish at the same time.
As she reached them, Swann gave a smile and a small bow, taking her hand to kiss it lightly. Her head was tilted in just the right way to make it look as if she was peering down her nose at him, even though he was taller. She took the kiss as if it was no more than she deserved and expected, though the courtesy could have been extended in her eyes. She turned to James, her brow very slightly arched, inquiring as to why he hadn't paid his respects yet.
He bowed rather deeper than he usually did, took her hand and kissed it, looking right into those ocean-blue eyes as he did so, then straightened. She seemed suspicious of him, as if wondering why the man with the assumed higher rank (she didn't know who Swann was yet) had paid her better courtesy. Her blue eyes traveled the length of him then back up, causing his cheeks to heat very slightly under the scrutinty.
Swann called her attention again by giving the introductions. "I am Governor Weatherby Swann, I assume you are Lucy Conwell? This is my good friend Commodore James Norrington."
"It is a pleasure, lady," James said, in his most polite tone.
"Yes, I am Lady Lucy Conwell, of Port Lucille," she replied cooly, laying a heavy accent on her title. Her voice was melodous and light, but had an edge of ice to it that sent a slight shiver (that didn't show on the outside) through James. She gave a small--very small--curtsy, even though she was technically of lower rank than both of the men before her.
"Young Lady Conwell is here on a visit with her father, Lord Matthew Conwell. I believe the reason is you, Commodore," Swann said, looking pointedly at James.
He tried to contain his surprise. The visit was about him? What could that mean?
"Ah, here he comes now," Swann said before James had a chance to react properly. A man had come out of the carriage as well, and was approaching the little group. "Lord Conwell, good to see you."
"Governor Swann, Commodore Norrington," Conwell nodded formally to each of them, then focused on James. "Commodore, I was hoping to introduce you to my daughter. It's high time she met a man of your stature and intelligence, and I think you'll be a good influence on her."
"You do me too much credit, Lord Conwell," James said modestly, and gave a small bow.
"Please, call me Matthew," he said, holding out a hand.
"You may call me James," James replied, giving Matthew a firm handshake.
Lucy didn't look happy about being called "Young Lady Conwell," or to being ignored, but Matthew plowed on before she could interject with something. "Walk with me, James. If you'll excuse us, Governor." Swann nodded, then politely offered his arm to Lucy, starting a conversation that consisted of how pleased he was with her visit, and would she like a tour?
James nodded, and started off on a round of the courtyard, hands once more folded behind his back. "Is there something you would like to discuss with me, Matthew?" he asked once they were out of earshot of Lucy and Swann.
"Actually, yes. I told the Governor that the reason of my visit was you, and I wasn't lying. Lucy is a little... spoiled. She has had so many suitors that I don't even remember them all, and she rejected every one. At 27 years of age, I think it high time that she get settled down and start a family."
"Why did you choose me?" James was both flattered and curious. He was sure there were plenty of suitable men in the port they were from; he had heard that Port Lucille was quite a ways, at least a week by ship. Why had Matthew chosen someone from so far away?
"Your reputation preceeds you more than you're aware of, James. I hear everyone speak in an almost reverence whenever the subject of Commodore Norrington of the HMS Dauntless comes up. Your power, manners, skill, and availablity make it very natural for me to seek you out and at least introduce you to my daughter."
"I'm flattered. I never knew that people spoke of me this way." It was true, the men he worked with were far too used to him to be awed; he'd never even considered that doing his job well would give him such recognition.
Matthew chuckled. "Oh, all the time. Even our resident commodore does, you're his idol." Matthew jostled him a bit grinning. "I wouldn't put it past the man to have a picture of you under his pillow."
This startled James. Another commodore, having a picture of him under his pillow? "Surely... you must be exaggerating."
"Not at all. But back to the subject of Lucy..."
"Ah, yes. She's a beautiful young woman, Matthew, you must be proud of her."
"As proud as any father, I can assure you. There have been times... but that's natural. I just think that she's too wild, she needs something to settle her down a bit, and a husband like yourself would do wonderfully. Now, I don't want to force her into this, mind."
"I understand perfectly. I'll court the lady, as is natural, you need not fear of her being forced."
Matthew stopped and put a hand on James' arm, grinning. "Thank you, James. You've no idea what this means to me."
"Just doing what I can to help. And maybe gain a little something for myself." James smirked and gave Matthew such a conspiratoral wink that the man laughed.
"Good man. Now, I'm sure you've duties to attend, I shan't keep you any longer."
"It was good to meet you and your daughter, Matthew. I hope to see you again soon."
"We're taking lodging at the guest house here at the mansion, the Governor has already seen to it that our things are being taken there."
James nodded, then excused himself and headed for the Dauntless. He needed to think this through.