It was a week before he spoke more than a few words to Sparrow again,
spending most of his time avoiding the man as much as possible while on a
ship. Most of his time was spent standing at the railing, staring over the
water. The only time he was forced into contact with Sparrow was when the
man dragged him into the cabin to clean his wound and change the bandaging,
which was usually done in near-silence on Norrington's part.
At the end of the week though, he got the chance to witness two raids on other ships, once in the morning, and again in the afternoon. That morning, he was surprised when he realized that the other ship was also a pirate ship. It wasn't looted either. Sparrow's crew boarded the other vessel, brought a few members of the other crew aboard, and either killed or sank the rest with the ship along with its captain. He asked Sparrow what the point of it was afterward, and the only reply he got was a cryptic "Bloody bastards deserved it." He couldn't really protest to the sinking of a pirate ship, as he had done the same on several occasions for essentially the same reason, but he still found the whole incident very unexpected.
The second raid was on a Spanish vessel carrying gold from South America. It too was boarded, and the men rounded up on deck at pistol- and cutlass- point while the rest of the Pearl's crew relieved them of about a third of their gold and a few crates of food and fresh water. None of the ship's crew was done any permanent damage. It was positively tame by pirate raiding standards, but Norrington still glared at Sparrow with all the ire he could muster. He may be a guest aboard the Black Pearl but that didn't mean he had to approve of its activities.
---
Back in the cabin later on, a small-scale war was brewing. Norrington had sworn to himself earlier that he would not get into an argument with Sparrow over his "business" but once he started, all the anger and frustration of late just bubbled up to the surface and he couldn't restrain himself.
"What on Earth did you even need that gold for? You've got a whole bloody cavern full of the stuff on an island nobody can find! It's reprehensible! I should've hanged you when I had the chance!"
"First off, d'ye even know where that Spanish gold comes from?"
The question confused Norrington. What difference did it make where they got it?
"Various parts of South America, of course. I don't see how it's relevant."
"There ain't just the Spanish in South America, ye know. Long b'fore old Christopher Columbus waltzed into th' so-called New World, there were people livin' here. Nations. Empires. Spain's turned 'em all in te slaves, stripped them of their wealth."
"I don't see how the fate of a few savages change anything."
For the first time since Norrington met the scatter-brained pirate, Sparrow looked angry.
"They aren't just a few savages, mate. They're human beings, no matter how strange they seem te us. An' a whole bloody lot of them at that, or at leas' there were b'fore Europe sent over all its guns and plagues. The kings of Europe are as much a bunch of pirates as I am, love. Even, fer example, jolly old England."
Norrington only barely stopped himself from punching the man where he stood. Beyond the insult though, he was further angered by the fact that if he were honest with himself, he had to admit the man was right.
"That still doesn't make it right. Two sins do not make virtue."
"Perhaps, or perhaps not. Why d'ye hate pirates so much anyhow? Most folks don't care for us, but I've never met someone as stiff-assed about it as you."
"It was a bastard like you who killed my father."
Norrington knew that it was an unfair accusation. It was a pirate who killed is father, but Sparrow wasn't that sort of bastard, and he knew it. Sparrow simply lifted an eyebrow at that statement.
"Well mate, I'm sorry fer that. Honestly. Fer what it's worth, a pirate killed me pa as well, but ye don't see me chasin' every brigand in the sea like it were th'end o' the world comin' if I didn't kill every last one. 'Course, me pa was a pirate as well, but that doesn't change the fact of it."
"That's beside the point."
"Possibly. Probably. But on yer previous point, tha' cavern is nearly empty now."
Norrington laughed incredulously.
"I find it hard to believe that even you and your crew could spend that much gold so quickly, Sparrow."
"CAPTAIN Sparrow, and I'm no' lyin'. It's gone, fer the most part."
"Dare I ask where it all went?"
Sparrow grinned brightly at him, flashing yet more gold.
"Ye might ask yer old governor Swann tha' question."
It took a minute for his meaning to sink in, but when it did, Norrington's jaw dropped.
"You. I don't believe it. You? You were the anonymous donor responsible for the repairs on Port Royal?"
Sparrow nodded.
"Yessir, th'gold in that cavern was never mine t'begin with. Barbossa'd been rather busy the past ten years. Wrecked a lot o' good towns. Figured th'least I could do was use 'is gold t'elp clean up 'is mess. And quite a mess 'e did make."
Norrington started laughing, and once he started, he couldn't stop. It seems life was not yet finished handing him surprises, though this was decidedly more pleasant than the other recent surprises. For once, he had done something right. He hadn't completely screwed up when he let Sparrow go after all. For once, his instincts had been correct. Sparrow wasn't a devil after all. Funny how in less than a minute, he'd gone from wanting to kill the man to actually grudgingly liking him, insanity and all.
Finally, he stopped laughing, just in time to notice Sparrow staring at him looking as though he couldn't quite decide whether to laugh along with him or slap him. Sparrow cocked an eyebrow at him questioningly.
"Sorry, I apologize. I don't know quite what came over me."
"No apologies needed, mate. No harm in a good laugh. I think ye needed it any'ow."
"Perhaps you're correct."
Norrington collapsed onto the chair behind Sparrow's desk and put his face into the hand not attached to an injured shoulder and stared at nothing in particular.
"Life is so strange. It's like some sort of odd dream sometimes..."
"Aye, that it is. Never thought I'd have bloody James Norrington sitting in me cabin, ye know. I wonder how that happened?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
"Try me, love."
Norrington rolled his eyes.
"Would you please refrain from calling me that?"
"Calling ye what? 'Love?'"
"Yes. That."
Jack's grin simply widened.
"Tell me how ye got 'ere and I'll think about it."
Norrington sighed deeply. He knew instinctively that Sparrow would be as good as his word on this occasion: he'd not leave this ship until he spilled the beans. He might as well get it over with.
"Well... I suppose it's part Elizabeth's fault, part your fault, and mostly my fault..."
"Do continue, love."
Jack continued grinning, and Norrington rolled his eyes yet again at the stupid address.
"Well as you well know, Elizabeth played me for a sap, sending me after her true love under the lie that she'd marry me at the end."
He tried not to let his bitterness seep into his tone, to sound nonchalant about it, but failed miserably. Sparrow interjected before he could continue.
"Ye know, I like the whelp an' all, but I wasn't lyin. I really was rooting fer you."
Norrington decided to continue without wasting a reply on that statement. Thankfully, Sparrow just leaned back and appeared to be settling in for the tale and allowing him to continue uninterrupted.
"Well suffice it to say, my superiors were not pleased with the loss of the Interceptor and several men, nor were they at all pleased that I let you escape without contest. I suppose they probably would've been more merciful had I hanged Turner and chased after you immediately, but I suppose it's far too late to wonder about what might have been. Elizabeth, of course, never gave me a single word of thanks for saving her suitor, though her father apologized profusely following the outcome of my trial for everything he could think of possibly being sorry for. He even offered to get me a job with the government back in England, but I couldn't swallow my pride and accept it. I was rather depressed and aching to get back to sea-"
Jack smiled wryly at that, but Norrington decided not to pay any attention to him.
"-so I joined the crew of a common merchant vessel. Less than a week out of port, the ship, which was in poor condition to start with, sank during a storm. Myself and the crew rowed to the nearest port, which turned out to be your beloved Tortuga. A child stole my money the next day, I got beaten to a pulp by pirates the following night, and then apparently you picked me up and brought me here."
Norrington deflated slightly, staring at his hands instead of looking at Sparrow. He had to admit though, that the weight of the tale seemed to diminish in the telling of it.
After a few minutes of silence, Sparrow started chuckling, then laughing in earnest. Norrington felt offended, but he couldn't stop himself from laughing as well. It really was a ridiculous story, and now that he was no longer lost and alone, it was like a nightmare disappearing under the light of dawn. Sparrow's fit finally subsided, and Norrington's with it. Sparrow scrubbed the tears from the corners of his eyes and placed his hand on Norrington's good shoulder.
"Mate, that's probably the saddest tale I've ever heard. Ye've 'ad no luck at all, leastways not until I found ye."
Sparrow smirked at that proclamation, and gave Norrington's shoulder a solid squeeze and a little shake before withdrawing his hand.
"Yes, I suppose it is a sad tale."
"Well love, ye've kept up yer end of the bargain, and now I'll keep mine. Where d'ye want te go?"
Norrington scratched his head. He hadn't really thought about it. Sparrow seemed to note his confusion.
"If I were ye, I'd say ye've got two good alternatives. Either go back te Port Royal and be with yer friends, or go te that brother o' yers. I told ye b'fore that it doesn't make ye less a man to accept help from others, and I stand by tha' statement."
Norrington just stared at his hands again. He knew Sparrow was right, but he didn't want to be proven to be as incompetent as his brother had always accused him of being. He wanted to stand on his own feet. But life, it seemed, would not allow him to do so. He noticed Sparrow standing, but didn't bother to look up until the pirate briefly ran his fingers through Norrington's hair as though he were a child.
"Don' worry love, I'll take ye back te England. Don't worry about old Edward either. I dunno why yer so reluctant te see yer own brother, but I'd wager if he's got half yer sense of honor, he'll do right by ye. No shame in lettin' yer family help ye."
---
A couple months later, Norrington was in a dinghy rowing toward the docks at Southampton. He paused briefly, glancing back over him at the black sails in the distance. The Black Pearl didn't have quite the same notoriety in England as it did in the Caribbean, but Captain Sparrow hadn't wanted to risk getting too close, and dropped Norrington about an hour's rowing off shore with a heavy purse of Spanish gold and somewhat embarrassing bear- hug. His shoulder still ached, but he'd manage it. From Southampton, it would only be a scant few days till he reached London and his father's old estate, now belonging to his older brother. Despite Captain Sparrow's constant reassurance that things would work out fine since they were family and all, he couldn't help be apprehensive. He knew his brother would help him, of course, and it wouldn't be the first time Edward had gotten him out of a bind, but he didn't want to ponder the amount of ridicule he'd have to endure before he got it. He'd never live this one down.
---
The butler had tried to send him away when he first saw James Norrington standing at the door, believing him to be a beggar due to his ragged and unwashed appearance. It took much protesting and answering of personal questions before he was allowed to enter his childhood home. He stopped a few steps into the house and looked around. It had scarcely changed in the past few years. There were a couple paintings that hadn't been there before, but otherwise it was precisely as he had left it. It even smelled the same. He could have wept for the relief of it. He was home, finally. As such, he was lost in himself when his brother walked out of the parlor and stopped dead in his tracks, staring at him as though he were a ghost.
"James? Is that you? Oh my God, it is you!"
He was expecting many reactions from his brother, but not the one he got. Edward crossed the room to him at a near sprint, gathering his younger brother to him in a hug even more crushing than the one Captain Sparrow had given him at his farewell.
"Thank heavens, it is you! Where on Earth have you been? I heard of your trial and later received a letter from governor Swann saying you'd disappeared from Port Royal without a trace! That was months ago! I thought you were dead!"
Edward finally let go of him, allowing him to catch his breath. Finally Edward regarded him with humorous disapproval.
"Begads, brother, you look like you've been sleeping in a ditch for half your life! You must tell me what you've been up to!"
James Norrington laughed, and Edward soon joined him. Maybe things would turn out okay in the end after all.
At the end of the week though, he got the chance to witness two raids on other ships, once in the morning, and again in the afternoon. That morning, he was surprised when he realized that the other ship was also a pirate ship. It wasn't looted either. Sparrow's crew boarded the other vessel, brought a few members of the other crew aboard, and either killed or sank the rest with the ship along with its captain. He asked Sparrow what the point of it was afterward, and the only reply he got was a cryptic "Bloody bastards deserved it." He couldn't really protest to the sinking of a pirate ship, as he had done the same on several occasions for essentially the same reason, but he still found the whole incident very unexpected.
The second raid was on a Spanish vessel carrying gold from South America. It too was boarded, and the men rounded up on deck at pistol- and cutlass- point while the rest of the Pearl's crew relieved them of about a third of their gold and a few crates of food and fresh water. None of the ship's crew was done any permanent damage. It was positively tame by pirate raiding standards, but Norrington still glared at Sparrow with all the ire he could muster. He may be a guest aboard the Black Pearl but that didn't mean he had to approve of its activities.
---
Back in the cabin later on, a small-scale war was brewing. Norrington had sworn to himself earlier that he would not get into an argument with Sparrow over his "business" but once he started, all the anger and frustration of late just bubbled up to the surface and he couldn't restrain himself.
"What on Earth did you even need that gold for? You've got a whole bloody cavern full of the stuff on an island nobody can find! It's reprehensible! I should've hanged you when I had the chance!"
"First off, d'ye even know where that Spanish gold comes from?"
The question confused Norrington. What difference did it make where they got it?
"Various parts of South America, of course. I don't see how it's relevant."
"There ain't just the Spanish in South America, ye know. Long b'fore old Christopher Columbus waltzed into th' so-called New World, there were people livin' here. Nations. Empires. Spain's turned 'em all in te slaves, stripped them of their wealth."
"I don't see how the fate of a few savages change anything."
For the first time since Norrington met the scatter-brained pirate, Sparrow looked angry.
"They aren't just a few savages, mate. They're human beings, no matter how strange they seem te us. An' a whole bloody lot of them at that, or at leas' there were b'fore Europe sent over all its guns and plagues. The kings of Europe are as much a bunch of pirates as I am, love. Even, fer example, jolly old England."
Norrington only barely stopped himself from punching the man where he stood. Beyond the insult though, he was further angered by the fact that if he were honest with himself, he had to admit the man was right.
"That still doesn't make it right. Two sins do not make virtue."
"Perhaps, or perhaps not. Why d'ye hate pirates so much anyhow? Most folks don't care for us, but I've never met someone as stiff-assed about it as you."
"It was a bastard like you who killed my father."
Norrington knew that it was an unfair accusation. It was a pirate who killed is father, but Sparrow wasn't that sort of bastard, and he knew it. Sparrow simply lifted an eyebrow at that statement.
"Well mate, I'm sorry fer that. Honestly. Fer what it's worth, a pirate killed me pa as well, but ye don't see me chasin' every brigand in the sea like it were th'end o' the world comin' if I didn't kill every last one. 'Course, me pa was a pirate as well, but that doesn't change the fact of it."
"That's beside the point."
"Possibly. Probably. But on yer previous point, tha' cavern is nearly empty now."
Norrington laughed incredulously.
"I find it hard to believe that even you and your crew could spend that much gold so quickly, Sparrow."
"CAPTAIN Sparrow, and I'm no' lyin'. It's gone, fer the most part."
"Dare I ask where it all went?"
Sparrow grinned brightly at him, flashing yet more gold.
"Ye might ask yer old governor Swann tha' question."
It took a minute for his meaning to sink in, but when it did, Norrington's jaw dropped.
"You. I don't believe it. You? You were the anonymous donor responsible for the repairs on Port Royal?"
Sparrow nodded.
"Yessir, th'gold in that cavern was never mine t'begin with. Barbossa'd been rather busy the past ten years. Wrecked a lot o' good towns. Figured th'least I could do was use 'is gold t'elp clean up 'is mess. And quite a mess 'e did make."
Norrington started laughing, and once he started, he couldn't stop. It seems life was not yet finished handing him surprises, though this was decidedly more pleasant than the other recent surprises. For once, he had done something right. He hadn't completely screwed up when he let Sparrow go after all. For once, his instincts had been correct. Sparrow wasn't a devil after all. Funny how in less than a minute, he'd gone from wanting to kill the man to actually grudgingly liking him, insanity and all.
Finally, he stopped laughing, just in time to notice Sparrow staring at him looking as though he couldn't quite decide whether to laugh along with him or slap him. Sparrow cocked an eyebrow at him questioningly.
"Sorry, I apologize. I don't know quite what came over me."
"No apologies needed, mate. No harm in a good laugh. I think ye needed it any'ow."
"Perhaps you're correct."
Norrington collapsed onto the chair behind Sparrow's desk and put his face into the hand not attached to an injured shoulder and stared at nothing in particular.
"Life is so strange. It's like some sort of odd dream sometimes..."
"Aye, that it is. Never thought I'd have bloody James Norrington sitting in me cabin, ye know. I wonder how that happened?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
"Try me, love."
Norrington rolled his eyes.
"Would you please refrain from calling me that?"
"Calling ye what? 'Love?'"
"Yes. That."
Jack's grin simply widened.
"Tell me how ye got 'ere and I'll think about it."
Norrington sighed deeply. He knew instinctively that Sparrow would be as good as his word on this occasion: he'd not leave this ship until he spilled the beans. He might as well get it over with.
"Well... I suppose it's part Elizabeth's fault, part your fault, and mostly my fault..."
"Do continue, love."
Jack continued grinning, and Norrington rolled his eyes yet again at the stupid address.
"Well as you well know, Elizabeth played me for a sap, sending me after her true love under the lie that she'd marry me at the end."
He tried not to let his bitterness seep into his tone, to sound nonchalant about it, but failed miserably. Sparrow interjected before he could continue.
"Ye know, I like the whelp an' all, but I wasn't lyin. I really was rooting fer you."
Norrington decided to continue without wasting a reply on that statement. Thankfully, Sparrow just leaned back and appeared to be settling in for the tale and allowing him to continue uninterrupted.
"Well suffice it to say, my superiors were not pleased with the loss of the Interceptor and several men, nor were they at all pleased that I let you escape without contest. I suppose they probably would've been more merciful had I hanged Turner and chased after you immediately, but I suppose it's far too late to wonder about what might have been. Elizabeth, of course, never gave me a single word of thanks for saving her suitor, though her father apologized profusely following the outcome of my trial for everything he could think of possibly being sorry for. He even offered to get me a job with the government back in England, but I couldn't swallow my pride and accept it. I was rather depressed and aching to get back to sea-"
Jack smiled wryly at that, but Norrington decided not to pay any attention to him.
"-so I joined the crew of a common merchant vessel. Less than a week out of port, the ship, which was in poor condition to start with, sank during a storm. Myself and the crew rowed to the nearest port, which turned out to be your beloved Tortuga. A child stole my money the next day, I got beaten to a pulp by pirates the following night, and then apparently you picked me up and brought me here."
Norrington deflated slightly, staring at his hands instead of looking at Sparrow. He had to admit though, that the weight of the tale seemed to diminish in the telling of it.
After a few minutes of silence, Sparrow started chuckling, then laughing in earnest. Norrington felt offended, but he couldn't stop himself from laughing as well. It really was a ridiculous story, and now that he was no longer lost and alone, it was like a nightmare disappearing under the light of dawn. Sparrow's fit finally subsided, and Norrington's with it. Sparrow scrubbed the tears from the corners of his eyes and placed his hand on Norrington's good shoulder.
"Mate, that's probably the saddest tale I've ever heard. Ye've 'ad no luck at all, leastways not until I found ye."
Sparrow smirked at that proclamation, and gave Norrington's shoulder a solid squeeze and a little shake before withdrawing his hand.
"Yes, I suppose it is a sad tale."
"Well love, ye've kept up yer end of the bargain, and now I'll keep mine. Where d'ye want te go?"
Norrington scratched his head. He hadn't really thought about it. Sparrow seemed to note his confusion.
"If I were ye, I'd say ye've got two good alternatives. Either go back te Port Royal and be with yer friends, or go te that brother o' yers. I told ye b'fore that it doesn't make ye less a man to accept help from others, and I stand by tha' statement."
Norrington just stared at his hands again. He knew Sparrow was right, but he didn't want to be proven to be as incompetent as his brother had always accused him of being. He wanted to stand on his own feet. But life, it seemed, would not allow him to do so. He noticed Sparrow standing, but didn't bother to look up until the pirate briefly ran his fingers through Norrington's hair as though he were a child.
"Don' worry love, I'll take ye back te England. Don't worry about old Edward either. I dunno why yer so reluctant te see yer own brother, but I'd wager if he's got half yer sense of honor, he'll do right by ye. No shame in lettin' yer family help ye."
---
A couple months later, Norrington was in a dinghy rowing toward the docks at Southampton. He paused briefly, glancing back over him at the black sails in the distance. The Black Pearl didn't have quite the same notoriety in England as it did in the Caribbean, but Captain Sparrow hadn't wanted to risk getting too close, and dropped Norrington about an hour's rowing off shore with a heavy purse of Spanish gold and somewhat embarrassing bear- hug. His shoulder still ached, but he'd manage it. From Southampton, it would only be a scant few days till he reached London and his father's old estate, now belonging to his older brother. Despite Captain Sparrow's constant reassurance that things would work out fine since they were family and all, he couldn't help be apprehensive. He knew his brother would help him, of course, and it wouldn't be the first time Edward had gotten him out of a bind, but he didn't want to ponder the amount of ridicule he'd have to endure before he got it. He'd never live this one down.
---
The butler had tried to send him away when he first saw James Norrington standing at the door, believing him to be a beggar due to his ragged and unwashed appearance. It took much protesting and answering of personal questions before he was allowed to enter his childhood home. He stopped a few steps into the house and looked around. It had scarcely changed in the past few years. There were a couple paintings that hadn't been there before, but otherwise it was precisely as he had left it. It even smelled the same. He could have wept for the relief of it. He was home, finally. As such, he was lost in himself when his brother walked out of the parlor and stopped dead in his tracks, staring at him as though he were a ghost.
"James? Is that you? Oh my God, it is you!"
He was expecting many reactions from his brother, but not the one he got. Edward crossed the room to him at a near sprint, gathering his younger brother to him in a hug even more crushing than the one Captain Sparrow had given him at his farewell.
"Thank heavens, it is you! Where on Earth have you been? I heard of your trial and later received a letter from governor Swann saying you'd disappeared from Port Royal without a trace! That was months ago! I thought you were dead!"
Edward finally let go of him, allowing him to catch his breath. Finally Edward regarded him with humorous disapproval.
"Begads, brother, you look like you've been sleeping in a ditch for half your life! You must tell me what you've been up to!"
James Norrington laughed, and Edward soon joined him. Maybe things would turn out okay in the end after all.