Dark Waltz
June 27, 2004
OceanGirl28
Rating: PG-13 for drinking, kissing, and sexual references
Summary: Elizabeth Swann's life is a never-ending waltz from man to man, deceiving each and every one into thinking she loves them... but there is only one man Elizabeth longs to dance with, and that man is out of her reach. Her father forbade her to see Will Turner long ago, yet can she obey such an order? Will she listen to her father... or her heart? What will her actions lead to? Perhaps the end... of both of them W/E shipping. No flames, please!
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and a few new characters. Everything else belongs to the creators of Pirates of the Caribbean.
Chapter Five, I Can't Breathe!
The next morning Elizabeth woke up dreading the day's events. Soon enough, it was past tea time and Norrington arrived. They went for a walk along the shore. Elizabeth nervously twirled her parasol. "I was overjoyed when your father agreed to let me court on you, Miss Swann." he said. "Yes... " she replied, smiling crookedly, "So was... so was I." She didn't know why she answered with a lie; she just did not want to be rude.
He smiled back. "You're very beautiful." he said as he stopped. Elizabeth didn't know what to do, and stopped as well, biting her lip. Beauty? Was that all he cared of? Quite obviously yes, for he did not even know her. His hand cautiously rose to cup her face, and her eyes followed it. Elizabeth fought hard to keep a straight face as she said, "Tis getting late. We best be heading to my father's house for supper." she half-smiled and turned around, as he followed.
The days consisted of the same routines. The Commodore would visit nearly every afternoon, courting on Elizabeth. They would either stay inside, drinking tea in silence, or if it was nice out, they would go for a walk. One afternoon they were walking through town when Elizabeth spotted Will. She caught his longing eyes as she walked side by side with the Captain, who seemed to notice. "I remember when you and young Mr. Turner first met on the crossing from England." he said, as she looked away from Will, and half-smiled to Norrington. "You two were always running around making trouble for us as we attempted to work on the ship." He laughed and stopped, resting his hand on her neck as she turned away. "You're no longer the little girl I once knew, Elizabeth." he said, "You've become a beautiful woman." His head began to move towards hers as she pulled away from him nervously. He sighed and they continued to walk. Elizabeth caught Will's sad gaze once more, and she wanted to break down in tears. "I am sorry for my sudden actions, Elizabeth." the Captain spoke as they neared her house. It was the second time that he had called her by her first name, and she was rather annoyed having never given him permission to do so. "Tis alright." she replied, uncomfortably.
Months went by and Norrington had barely touched her, afraid that she would pull away. She was happy he did so, yet felt rather guilty that she had made him so uncomfortable. Autumn, winter, and spring passed - and summer finally arrived. One extremely hot evening, Elizabeth accepted the Captain's suggestion to go for a walk - for the room and all the people in it were suffocating her. Fanning herself continuously, she followed him out to the docks. They stood there for a moment, staring at the moon. "Elizabeth?" he whispered as she turned her attention to him. It looked as if his mind was racing, and although she tried, she could not read his thoughts. Confused, she stopped fanning herself for a moment. "Are you alright?" she asked, politely. His thoughts seemed to stop as he turned to look her in the eye. Elizabeth could feel his hands snake around her waist and she gasped at his sudden touch. The next thing she knew, Norrington's head slowly edged closer to hers.
It was now Elizabeth's mind that raced. She wanted to push him away, but did not have the heart to do so again. She had made him wait long enough and felt almost as if she owed it to him. But no - she didn't owe him anything. Finally she gave in to her thoughts as his lips nervously brushed her bottom lip. She shivered worriedly. The Captain felt her shiver and took it as an act of pleasure, so he decided to try again. He gently sucked her bottom lip. Startled, Elizabeth dropped her fan and heard a splash in the water. "Oh... " she gasped, turning around and staring into the dark waters. She knew that it was gone, but needed an excuse to break away from his touch. Elizabeth felt extremely selfish for thinking so lowly of the Captain. She knew he was a fine man, just as her father had said, yet there was always that thought of William Turner in the back of her mind that made knots in her stomach. "I - I'm so sorry." she said to Norrington, "I feel rather ill now without my fan." She knew that it was a silly excuse to return to the mansion, but she had panicked and wasn't thinking straight with the heat. He nodded solemnly and turned around. Feeling guilty, Elizabeth grabbed his arm, spinning him back around, and kissed his cheek. He smiled, although she knew he wanted much more than that. However, at the time it was all that she had to offer him.
Nearly six weeks later, in mid August, they took another walk to the beach. It was then that Norrington tried again. There was no chance that she could reject him for a third time, so she reluctantly let him run his tongue across her mouth, sucking gently on her bottom lip occasionally. She did not kiss him back... she couldn't. Every time his lips made contact with hers an image of Will and her waltzing across the soft grass danced through her head. Their bodies edging closer and closer...
After that, Norrington was much more open with her. She wasn't sure whether she liked it or not. Elizabeth enjoyed hearing stories of his past - his voyages on the seas - him being threatened by pirates. However she felt uncomfortable walking in the streets with his arm around her waist, for she was always worried that Will would appear. She hadn't seen him for almost a year, and almost hoped that he would be walking in the streets and their eyes would meet as they did so many times before. Just one look and he could read her like a book. She always enjoyed having someone understand her - for her father did not.
Soon her sixteenth birthday had arrived and her father held yet another small party with his close friends. Extremely bored, she was almost relieved when Norrington asked her to walk with him. They sat on a bench outside of her house in silence. The Captain looked as he did when he was deciding whether to kiss her or not, and Elizabeth grew uncomfortable. Finally he spoke.
"Elizabeth," he said, "I have achieved many goals in my life. I've moved to Port Royal, I have just been told that I am to become the Commodore... I couldn't be any happier." he paused, "Yet there always seemed to be one thing missing." He took another breath as she listened intently, "A marriage to a fine woman." Elizabeth's eyes grew wide as he got down on his knee in front of her. "You, Elizabeth," he said, "Have become a fine woman." Norrington grasped her hands in his. Elizabeth's mouth gaped and she did not know what to say. Panicking, she stood up, his hands releasing hers - a look of worry in his eyes. The corset felt tighter than ever and she found it hard to breathe. The hot, moist air caused her to feel dizzy, as she found herself gasping for air. "I - I can't breathe!" she choked out. "Yes - I'm feeling a bit nervous myself." the Commodore replied, standing up.
Elizabeth felt her eyes roll to the back of her head as she lost her balance, hitting her head hard on the side of the wooden bench and falling to the ground.
That was so fun to write! Haha. Yes, of course my idea of that came from the actual movie Pirates of the Caribbean. I enjoyed writing this chapter more because Elizabeth and Norrington's relationship began to finally develop. (For the good or the bad) The chapter may be shorter than the others, or else it's just that the paragraphs are much longer. Oh well. As I promised in Norrington's Choice, I would write a story in which total respect was given to the Commodore. If you do not yet believe I have given him complete respect, then just wait until further chapters - for he will appear again, I promise!
-OceanGirl28
