Where her Heart truly Lies
Author's Note: This is a companion piece to All a Father Wants, which deals with Gov. Swann's thoughts of Elizabeth and Will's upcoming wedding. That was my defense of Swann's character, now I'm sticking up for Norrington, who's really not such a bad guy.
Disclaimer: I don't own Pirates of the Caribbean or the characters. Just having some fun, and not making any profit from it.
James Norrington opened the envelope and glanced at the piece of parchment. He held the piece of paper in his hand and stared out the window at the harbor. He'd known this moment was coming for the last six months. After three months of courting, and a three-month engagement, Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann were getting married.
Of course, he was invited. As the commanding officer of Fort Charles, a close associate of Governor Swann, and friend of the family, it would be unthinkable not to invite him. And in the last six months, he had done his best to keep things between himself and the Swanns, and the Turner lad, friendly and civil. However......... The thought of being there for their wedding.....well, it just was not the most pleasant thought.
He truly had cared for Elizabeth. The day of his promotion, he had been wracked with nerves and not just because of the ceremony. That was the day he planned to ask Elizabeth to be his wife. In hindsight, standing on the edge of the battlements to talk probably hadn't been the smartest idea. When she had fainted and fallen into the water, he had nearly had a heart attack. He was all ready to jump in after her, but Gillette had stopped him, since the possibility of hitting the rocks was far too likely. So he had had to go down to the harbor the long way. Thank goodness for Sparrow. Ha. He couldn't believe he would think that, but it was true. If not for the pirate, Elizabeth would likely have died.
James Norrington was a man bound by his duties. Even though Sparrow had saved Elizabeth's life, he was a pirate, and therefore could not just be allowed to go free. Honestly, if he allowed a pirate to just walk free, what was next -- anarchy? So he'd had the man arrested.
The adventure that had followed -- well, who could have foreseen all that? It was insane. Elizabeth's kidnapping by Barbossa, Turner's rash actions, the commandeering of the Interceptor...... It had all been so unpredictable. Throughout it all, all he had been able to do was go by the book, and worry about Elizabeth.
He would have thought that when she had agreed to marry him, he would have been thrilled. But it had been too obvious that she truly cared for Turner. James wasn't stupid. He could see what was plain as day.
The day of Sparrow's hanging, James had been slightly uneasy, although on the surface everything seemed to be going perfectly. When Elizabeth had said, "This is wrong," he'd felt like she was echoing his feelings exactly. She'd been talking about Sparrow, but he had felt like things in general were just not quite right. And then, Turner had shown up, and well, things had just gone downhill from there.
He thought he'd handled it rather well when Elizabeth had chose the Turner lad over him. Then Sparrow had gone and fallen off the battlements, and escaped to his ship. The whole affair had been a complete debacle. Rather embarrassing, really. But he had done his best to handle the whole thing with grace and aplomb. He had even decided not to go after Sparrow. Might as well give the fellow a break. He had saved Elizabeth's life, after all. James felt like he owed him for that. Now they were square, though. If the pirate showed his face in Port Royal again, he would have to arrest him and see him hung. It was the law.
James looked again at the wedding invitation held in his hand. He dropped it on his desk. He sat down and starting penning his acceptance. He would go to the wedding and see the woman he cared for married to another man. James was confident that the young blacksmith would take care of her and make her happy. The boy had some piratical tendencies, and sometimes acted rashly, but he was a good man. Good swordsmith.
James paused for a moment, looking at his wedding invitation, thinking of Will's family history and his recent association with a certain pirate captain. He just hoped that the young couple wouldn't do anything.......stupid.
A.N. Well, if you read this and enjoyed it even the tiniest bit, please leave a review. If I get a good response I might just write another one, and make this into a series. Maybe.