"No, you are NOT letting him join the navy. It's bad enough having you out
there, look what happened to your father."
"Mother." the young adult tried to bargain. "Mother, just look at him. James wasn't made to be a landlubber, nor was I. We have sailor's blood in us; we have the salt water of the sea running through our veins. Just let him come with me, he'll be safer on board our ship than a chick under a sparrows wing."
"No, no, and for the last time, absolutely not!" The grand Mrs. Norrington was a mess as she tried to cook dinner for her family in welcome of her eldest son's return for the next few days.
"Just give her time lad, she'll warm up, she always does." John whispered into his younger brother's ear. "Till then, I have a gift for you. Come with me." The boy followed eagerly. "Now, I know I missed yer tenth birthday, so I got you a gift to make up for it. Close your eyes" the boy obeyed impatiently. "Now stick out your hands." The boy placed both his hands out in front of him only to have them weighted down by a long, heavy box. "Happy birthday, luv."
The boy opened the box, torn between anxiousness and wanting to savor the moment. Finally, impatience won out and he ripped the box open to reveal a beautiful sword. "Is it really mine? Is it really mine John?" the boy was almost squealing with delight.
"It's all yours. Consider it a gift from the soon to be Captain John." The older man was positively beaming.
"They're going to make you a captain?"
"It's why I'm in the market for a cabin boy." He said with a wink. "Now don't let mum see that or she'll throw a fit, you know she wants you to grow up to be a respectable young man."
"I want to be a pirate!" The boy said brandishing the sword.
"Oh, no you don't laddie. You know what they do to pirates?"
"What?" The boy asked indignantly.
"A short drop and quick stop for them it is." As he said that line he mimed someone getting hung, and the boy shuddered at the thought of what should happen to him. "It's why I joined the Navy I did. All the excitement of sailing, all the fighting, and swordplay that you get being a pirate, with, of course, half the fun, but you get to keep your hide. C'mon, I'll teach you how to use that thing."
And so he did. John Norrington taught his brother everything he knew about how to use a sword while he was home that week on shore leave. There was always something awkward about the older man though, that his younger brother loved. There was an odd quirkiness, a stagger in his gait whenever he was on land that he didn't have when he was on a boat. And that intrigued the young boy, who always had a curious nature to begin with.
And when that week was up, it turned out that a mother's steadfast will could match and outdo that of the young sailors. So it was with a heavy heart that John left his family behind that cold night, with parting words to his brother. "When you look out to the sea, remember the freedom that it holds. The sea is freedom, nothing less. Treat her kindly lad. You have saltwater in your blood, as do I, make the most of it. You'll go far boy, you'll go far." With that, he flopped the tricorne hat on the young boys head, and walked off, down to the dock where his boat was moored, majestic in the faint glow of the setting sun.
It was not long after when the small family got the one letter that they never wanted to get.
"It is my sorrowful duty to inform you with much regret that the HMS Angeles was attacked not long ago by a band of pirates. The whereabouts of your son, Captain John Norrington are unknown, but the royal navy now believes he is dead. Admiral Michael Stockwell."
It was a letter that made their mother sob, and sent the boy to his room, to brood, to make him resolve to wipe out every pirate that dared to sail on the Atlantic. He wore the sword proudly around his hip, a constant reminder of what his brother meant to him, and never went anywhere without his tricorne hat, the best gift his brother had ever given him. And it was that day when they got the news that he made up his mind to do whatever it took to join the Royal Navy.
Any thoughts of him being a pirate had been abolished when he had found out what pirates had done to his brother, the one who he loved so much, the one who showed him what the sea really was, the one who had taught him to love the sea. And love the sea he did, even with his mother's protests that she couldn't have all three men in her life go off gallivanting about the ocean, getting themselves killed for no apparent reason. The sea was his only love; the sea was his one true love.
And it was that night that drove him to do whatever it took for him to wipe out every last remaining pirate in the ocean, looking especially hard for the ship that was rumored to have sank his brother, a ship that had already gained itself legend. It's what drove him to sail all over the ocean in search of the great ship that was said to have been the ship to sink half the British navy. It's what drove him up through the ranks from a lowly officer all the way up through commodore.
All the time he was out on the sea, he spent it looking for one solitary ship, the one ship that he knew killed his brother, and he'd do whatever it took to ensure that his brothers words would be put to use. He would personally make sure that every pirate on board of the legendary ship would get a short drop and a sudden stop. He would personally see to it that the ship would burn to ashes in the ocean, never to be seen again. He would personally make sure that no one would survive the Black Pearl. Not after what they did to his beloved brother.
"Mother." the young adult tried to bargain. "Mother, just look at him. James wasn't made to be a landlubber, nor was I. We have sailor's blood in us; we have the salt water of the sea running through our veins. Just let him come with me, he'll be safer on board our ship than a chick under a sparrows wing."
"No, no, and for the last time, absolutely not!" The grand Mrs. Norrington was a mess as she tried to cook dinner for her family in welcome of her eldest son's return for the next few days.
"Just give her time lad, she'll warm up, she always does." John whispered into his younger brother's ear. "Till then, I have a gift for you. Come with me." The boy followed eagerly. "Now, I know I missed yer tenth birthday, so I got you a gift to make up for it. Close your eyes" the boy obeyed impatiently. "Now stick out your hands." The boy placed both his hands out in front of him only to have them weighted down by a long, heavy box. "Happy birthday, luv."
The boy opened the box, torn between anxiousness and wanting to savor the moment. Finally, impatience won out and he ripped the box open to reveal a beautiful sword. "Is it really mine? Is it really mine John?" the boy was almost squealing with delight.
"It's all yours. Consider it a gift from the soon to be Captain John." The older man was positively beaming.
"They're going to make you a captain?"
"It's why I'm in the market for a cabin boy." He said with a wink. "Now don't let mum see that or she'll throw a fit, you know she wants you to grow up to be a respectable young man."
"I want to be a pirate!" The boy said brandishing the sword.
"Oh, no you don't laddie. You know what they do to pirates?"
"What?" The boy asked indignantly.
"A short drop and quick stop for them it is." As he said that line he mimed someone getting hung, and the boy shuddered at the thought of what should happen to him. "It's why I joined the Navy I did. All the excitement of sailing, all the fighting, and swordplay that you get being a pirate, with, of course, half the fun, but you get to keep your hide. C'mon, I'll teach you how to use that thing."
And so he did. John Norrington taught his brother everything he knew about how to use a sword while he was home that week on shore leave. There was always something awkward about the older man though, that his younger brother loved. There was an odd quirkiness, a stagger in his gait whenever he was on land that he didn't have when he was on a boat. And that intrigued the young boy, who always had a curious nature to begin with.
And when that week was up, it turned out that a mother's steadfast will could match and outdo that of the young sailors. So it was with a heavy heart that John left his family behind that cold night, with parting words to his brother. "When you look out to the sea, remember the freedom that it holds. The sea is freedom, nothing less. Treat her kindly lad. You have saltwater in your blood, as do I, make the most of it. You'll go far boy, you'll go far." With that, he flopped the tricorne hat on the young boys head, and walked off, down to the dock where his boat was moored, majestic in the faint glow of the setting sun.
It was not long after when the small family got the one letter that they never wanted to get.
"It is my sorrowful duty to inform you with much regret that the HMS Angeles was attacked not long ago by a band of pirates. The whereabouts of your son, Captain John Norrington are unknown, but the royal navy now believes he is dead. Admiral Michael Stockwell."
It was a letter that made their mother sob, and sent the boy to his room, to brood, to make him resolve to wipe out every pirate that dared to sail on the Atlantic. He wore the sword proudly around his hip, a constant reminder of what his brother meant to him, and never went anywhere without his tricorne hat, the best gift his brother had ever given him. And it was that day when they got the news that he made up his mind to do whatever it took to join the Royal Navy.
Any thoughts of him being a pirate had been abolished when he had found out what pirates had done to his brother, the one who he loved so much, the one who showed him what the sea really was, the one who had taught him to love the sea. And love the sea he did, even with his mother's protests that she couldn't have all three men in her life go off gallivanting about the ocean, getting themselves killed for no apparent reason. The sea was his only love; the sea was his one true love.
And it was that night that drove him to do whatever it took for him to wipe out every last remaining pirate in the ocean, looking especially hard for the ship that was rumored to have sank his brother, a ship that had already gained itself legend. It's what drove him to sail all over the ocean in search of the great ship that was said to have been the ship to sink half the British navy. It's what drove him up through the ranks from a lowly officer all the way up through commodore.
All the time he was out on the sea, he spent it looking for one solitary ship, the one ship that he knew killed his brother, and he'd do whatever it took to ensure that his brothers words would be put to use. He would personally make sure that every pirate on board of the legendary ship would get a short drop and a sudden stop. He would personally see to it that the ship would burn to ashes in the ocean, never to be seen again. He would personally make sure that no one would survive the Black Pearl. Not after what they did to his beloved brother.