A Sparrow's Daughter
By Anlei
Chapter Eleven
Annabelle went upstairs as the night began to await Gibbs. Instead of leaving a week later they had to try and find a way to Tortuga that night. It worried her that Norrington was out looking for Jack. What could he possibly want? He hadn't spoken of this man in all the days Annabelle worked for him. Whatever it was she wondered if it involved her in anyway. She hoped it hadn't. If Norrington knew Jack was her father it would only cause more problems.
Gibbs came to her door at midnight when the tavern was at its busiest and most of the men were too drunk to tell the difference between night and day. He told her to meet him by the back entrance after he handled a few things. Annabelle had long since packed her belongings and left them sitting on a chair with the sword Will gave to her.
She quickly braided her hair and spun it like a coil on her head which she hid under the hat. Gibbs had left a man's overcoat, which she quickly threw over her shoulders. It was worn and old and held a musty scent to it that invaded her nose quite unpleasantly. The coat itself was too big on her small frame but it hid her shape well enough. Hat and coat in tow she grabbed her effects and slipped down the back stairs to the kitchen and stood waiting for Gibbs.
He was already there talking to a younger man with a scar dragging down the left side of his face. From his haggard look Annabelle gathered he was another pirate, probably a friend of Jack's. He was going to look after the tavern until Gibbs saw fit to return.
The walk to the port was quiet and hurried. Gibbs leaned on Annabelle as if in need of support whenever he felt that a marine was watching them too closely. If stopped he told the officers that the young apprentice was merely accompanying him home. And if they were asked for a name Gibbs would make up one. Most of the marines stationed were too young to have made an acquaintance with him so he could easily pass them without arousing too much suspicion.
Once at the port, they paid for their passage and slipped onto a barge virtually unnoticed. They moved into a small back quarter with little room for the two of them. Luckily, the trip to Tortuga would take a little over a day to complete. Gibbs rested in a chair and Annabelle sat on the bed. She crossed her legs in a mans fashion, never having that much freedom to move in a dress.
"You might as well get comfortable, lass. You and I aren't to leave this room until we're well on our way. You don't get sea-sick do you?" He asked clearly not wanting to deal with it if she did.
"Not so much." She replied. Though she hadn't been on a ship for quite some time, she felt at home on one. She just had to get used to it again. If she was aboard a pirate ship with her mother for so long she gathered that she must have been able to handle it or her mother wouldn't have kept her aboard for so long.
"What could Norrington want with Jack...er, my father?" Calling Jack her father sounded very foreign to her. It was strange. She had never really said those words out loud. But it felt nice.
Gibbs noted the change but only smiled. "What else does a commodore want with a pirate but to hang him?" He asked.
Annabelle shook her head in disagreement. "But he's never mentioned Jack before. I'm sure that I would have heard something in his house. He has other naval officers over for dinner and for work all the time. And with the way the other maids gossip, especially about important matters, I would have heard about it." Annabelle argued.
"For his sake I hope your right, lass. But that still doesn't explain why he'd be lookin' for Jack."
He was right. But Norrington couldn't know that Annabelle and Jack were connected. Could he?
Gibbs settled in with a bottle of rum and proceeded to drink himself into slumber. Annabelle stretched out on the stiff bed and grasped the sword in her small hands. She slowly pulled the wrapping from around the blade and pulled the steel from the sheath.
"Mama, when do I get to have a sword??" "When you're old enough not to hurt yourself with one."
Annabelle smiled to herself, feeling the tears stinging the backs of her eyes. She replaced the sword and laid it next to her things by the bed. Closing her eyes she allowed sleep to claim her body.
Back on steady ground a commodore sat awake in his study, peering into the fire. His oldest son sat next to him, curiously watching his father through the firelight. Catching his son's inquisitive gaze he bore a short grin. He and his child had been sitting for nearly thirty minutes without either saying a word. He knew James was curious to know what was playing in his head and the commodore argued with himself about telling his son.
"You know, you do the exact same thing your mother does when she's trying to read my mind?" Norrington remarked quietly.
"Do I? I was under the impression that I behaved mostly like you." His son replied with a happy grin.
"You share a few qualities with your mother."
Silence fell over them once more and James fidgeted in his seat in a manner unbecoming of a naval captain.
"Just say it, James. I'm your father here not your superior." Norrington murmured gently. James looked to his father and shrugged.
"It's just that I've never quite seen you like this before unless you and mother had a rather brutal row. You seem to be having more of those lately. Is it because of that pirate you had me looking for?" James asked.
"Sparrow is only part of it." Norrington replied.
"Then you're worried about Miss Annabelle, I suppose?" His son asked. Norrington was quiet, not entirely wanting to delve into that subject.
He knew he had driven Annabelle to leave. That didn't surprise him. It worried him more than anything. She barely knew anything about the pirate world unless her memories suddenly decided to come back. Even so, he hardly believed that she would be capable of dealing with the situation alone. How could she simply run off like that?
"She is rash and young. She's acting out of her heart rather than her mind. I merely worry for her safety." Norrington replied stiffly.
James raised a dark brow in disbelief. "Father, if you would have me to believe it were so simple, you would have to try harder." Norrington ceased gazing into the fire and turned to his son, sternly. Though, his son would not cower from that gaze like he used to.
"I can see that you care for her as if she were your daughter. I wager that is the reason you and mother argue so often." James remarked bravely. The subject of his parents fights were not something to speak of without feeling the need to duck for cover.
Norrington opened his mouth deny it, only to sigh and lean back in his chair. He ran his fingers through his hair, having long removed the cursed wig for the evening.
"It's no secret that your mother and I...disagree on many things. This so happens to be one of them, yes." He admitted quietly.
"I don't understand. You've never treated any of the other maids the way you treat her. Why did you bring her to our house?" James asked.
He was not jealous but merely curious. He knew that his father loved him and he, in this situation, had a better life that Annabelle did. He had his father and he was grateful he did not have to endure what she did. However, even though is father was indeed a caring man underneath it all, it surprised him when he walked in the door that day with a dark skinned, morose looking child behind him.
Norrington was quiet, inwardly debating if he should tell his son the secret he had kept for so many years. He had made a promise, one he now failed to keep. He knew his son well enough to know that he could be trusted. And he would need all the help he could get in order to deal with the situation. No, his son did not deserve to be left in the dark.
"I made a promise many years ago that I would care for her in the event that no one else could." Norrington sighed.
"You mean this is something more than simple charity father?" James asked, growing more and more curious as the moments went on.
"Yes. In a way it was a debt I owed in honor of my life." Norrington rubbed the space above his eyes, feeling the headache growing.
"I don't understand." James replied.
"No, of course not, son. You haven't heard the entire story. But I suppose now is a good time to tell you. Let me tell you how I came upon Annabelle as a child." Norrington remarked, allowing his memories to drift back to that particular night all those years ago...
Commodore James Norrington, one of the highest paid men in the navy, most dedicated, loyal, respected, and more importantly the only man able to locate and track down nearly every pirate ship in the Caribbean, found himself at the mercy of one.
"It looks to me, that we have ourselves quite the situation here, mate." Spoke a voice in the silky, drunken drawl that could only belong to Captain Jack Sparrow.
Norrington sneered, irritated at himself for having been so foolish. He was unprepared and caught unawares. Jack Sparrow was only too happy to rub this little mistake in his face. He was practically beaming from the fact the he—a lowly pirate—had managed to actually surprise the infamous Commodore. He could imagine it now; he'd be even more renowned than he already was. But that wasn't the best part. The best part lay purely in the look on the great Commodore's face.
"What sort of games are you playing at, Sparrow?" He demanded clearly struggling to keep his anger in check.
"Now, now, Commodore, no need to get your perfect knickers in a twist. S'not everyday we get to have such a rendezvous'." Jack Sparrow grinned from ear to ear.
Norrington suppressed the urge to groan in irritation.
"There's not a day that goes by, Sparrow, where I would actually want to be in your presence. What do you want from me, revenge?" Norrington remarked impatiently.
He wanted nothing more to go home. He was tired and hungry and not at all prepared to deal with a pirate in the side alley of a tavern. Nor was he entirely in the right state of mind. He'd tossed back a few drinks with some of his fellow officers, not enough to render him helplessly drunk, but enough to keep him off balance. And if it's one thing that Norrington was sure of, it was that Captain Jack Sparrow was no easy match with a sword.
"Nothing of the sort, in fact. Merely a word or two then I'll be on my merry way." He replied silkily.
Norrington fought the urge to snort, knowing very well that a "word or two" could mean could mean trouble for him, the sort of trouble he'd only live to regret.
"Might there be a place we could talk, commodore?" He smirked, devilishly.
"What makes you think I'll go anywhere with you, Sparrow?" Norrington asked.
"I just saved your life, commodore. You at least owe me that, mate." He replied, gesturing to the two bodies strewn across the ground.
Norrington glanced at them and scowled. He hadn't seen them coming. Rather, he'd been a bit too foggy to notice. He was thoroughly surprised when they'd been defeated, by a pirate no less. He quickly overcame the surprise and replaced it with anger. In the back of his mind he was confused. Why would Sparrow save him? What could he possibly want, other than to do the job himself?
"What say you, commodore? Willin' to give a pirate your trust for a bit?" He grinned, half hearted and showing his gleaming gold teeth.
Norrington fought the urge to throw the invitation back in the pirate's laughing face while grinding his teeth into dust. After all, he was partly curious, no matter how foolhardy it seemed. He wanted to know why Jack Sparrow, a man he chased around the seas and tried to hang—a number of times—wanted an audience with him.
"My trust, Jack Sparrow, is not something you'll be receiving. However, I will allow you the chance to explain yourself." He replied in a huff of irritation.
"Captain, Captain Jack Sparrow."
Settled in Norrinton's office, a rather bold move on Sparrow's part, the pirate made himself comfortable in one of the chairs by Norrington's desk, sweeping his dirty boots upon the surface. He leaned back and smirked, fully enjoying the position he'd put the officer in.
"Kindly remove your filthy boots from my desk, Sparrow." Norrington demanded none too nicely.
Raising his hands in defeat and shrugging helplessly, Jack placed his feet back on the floor.
"Speak up, Sparrow. There is very little keeping me from locking you behind bars." Norrington spat.
"Oh but you won't be doing that will you, commodore? Despite the rather large stick up your arse you're a man of honor, a man of your word. Which is why I sought you out tonight."
"What do you mean?" Norrington place himself in the chair directly in front of Jack, careful to keep on guard.
"I need a favor." Jack replied. It was the only time Norrington had ever see him act normal, without the drunken, clownish flair he normally had.
"I beg your pardon?" Norrington sputtered, eyes narrowing. What was the world coming to when Captain Jack Sparrow came to him for a favor?
"No games, commodore. Just a simple, request, really."
"I am not at your beck and call, Sparrow. And a request from you would be something I'd surely regret." Norrington scowled.
Jack Sparrow reclined in the chair with a strange glint in his eye
"You have a son, don't you, commodore? Smart young lad, probably wants to be just like you when he grows up I'd wager, hunting lowly scallywags and all..."
Fear gripped Norrington's heart and he felt as if he'd been doused with ice water.
"If you in ANY way lay a hand on MY son--!" Norrington was barely able to keep himself in his chair.
"Calm yourself, man," Sparrow began, interrupting him, "I haven't touched your precious son, savvy?"
"Then why--?"
"I got one of me own, a daughter, I mean."
This admission surprised Norrington a bit. And made him even more suspicious.
"What does she have to do with me?" He asked, calming down.
Norrington watched as the spark faded from Jack's eyes. The change was barely noticeable but he managed to catch the fleeting sadness that washed over his darkened face, before he hid them away.
"I'm asking you to look after her."
Norrington could barely keep the shock off his face. Jack wanted to entrust the care of his daughter to him. He was half tempted to look out into the night sky and see if pigs were flying around.
"Why have you entrusted this task to me?" He managed to ask.
Jack was silent for a moment, watching the commodore closely.
"Tell me something, commodore, why is it you didn't have me killed? You had the perfect chance, with me and the boy surrounded and all. You're greatest nemesis would be dead right now." Jack asked.
"You are hardly my greatest nemesis, Sparrow." Norrington snorted, not willing to give him that satisfaction. Though it was probably enough to know that he could easily get under the commodore's skin.
"Bob's your uncle, mate." His lips formed his trade mark devil-may-care smirk.
Why had he let Sparrow escape?
Begrudgingly, he admitted to himself that it was because, despite how long he had hated pirates, Turner was right. Jack Sparrow was a good man, albeit a bumbling and rather tiresome one but still good nonetheless. He never did feel that secure in hanging the pirate that day. Though, as shameful as it was his pride and position kept him from releasing the pirate. Norrington remained silent, unsure of what to say.
That blasted smirk only widened.
"Just as I thought, mate. Didn't have the heart eh? Can't blame you really, can't resist me charms." He murmured.
"Another word and I will have you hung." Norrington threatened, both of them knowing good and well that it was an empty threat.
"I want to make sure my Annie's in good hands." He replied somewhat softly.
"And you believe I can do this? Why is she not with you? Norrington asked, watching as Jack's expression hardened, revealing nothing about how he felt.
"Let's just say the woman and I had a disagreement."
"Why not Turner? Surely, he'd be happy to take her in."
"The boy's got enough problems of his own. Being married to that blasted woman's trouble enough..." He replied. He liked Elizabeth and he wished Will all the luck in the world to be able to handle her.
Norrington secretly agreed. Elizabeth was a firecracker of a woman. She fit into the role of a noble woman well. But when she set her mind to something, nothing short of a bullet could stop her and maybe not even that. He smiled inwardly. His own wife mirrored the same fiery spirit as well.
"Besides, as a commodore, I'm sure you could overlook one or two things, bend the rules a bit, eh?" Jack added.
Of course if he took in a child of a pirate and kept her as a maid in his house, none of his crew would dare to question him. He was well respected and he knew they would look the other way.
All of this seemed strange. First, his fleet brings down the Hydra the previous night, which prompted some celebration among his fellow officers. Then Sparrow appears after having evaded the commodore for years. Now that the fog had begun to clear away from his mind he remembered hearing about one child found and placed in the infirmary for a head injury.
"Your daughter, she's the young girl they found on the Hydra, is she not?" He asked.
"Aye." He replied simply, watching the other man.
"I must say, Sparrow, this comes as quite a surprise. The men under my command sunk that ship and could have very well killed your child and here you are asking me to look after her."
"I know for a fact, commodore, that you haven't set foot on a ship in years. You probably had less to do with that attack than you did with the hangings."
It was true. Since the black pearl, marriage, and children, he had somehow changed. He didn't fully realize it until one morning over breakfast that he hadn't been putting much effort into going after pirates. He had left the task to his first in command and resigned himself to protecting the port. In fact, he realized with some surprise, that he had lost the drive for persecuting pirates. He scowled to himself wondering when he had become so soft.
"Have you been keeping tabs on me?" Norrington demanded.
"Someone's got to keep you on your toes, mate." The pirate shrugged.
"I have a wife and two sons, Sparrow, I don't need any more help than that."
Norrington leaned back in the chair and rubbed the bridge of his nose. By God, he was actually considering it. And the more the thought about it the more he realized that he was actually going to do it. His wife would have his head for this, he was sure.
"Do we have an agreement?" Jack's smooth drawl interrupted his thoughts.
"If I am to do this, you cannot be waltzing around Port Royale simply because I have done you a favor. I am able to bend the rules for her. You, on the other hand had better hope that no one under my command finds you or there will be nothing I can do this time." Norrington replied carefully.
"No worries, mate. I'll not return here, as long as I know you treat her right." The glint in Jack's eyes went from playful to dangerous as he spoke. It was obvious that he loved the girl very much. Norrington figured it must have hurt to not be involved in her life. He shuddered at the thought of their roles being reversed and never being able to see his sons again.
"You have nothing to worry about. She will not come to harm." Norrington assured him.
Not much was said afterwards. Jack resumed his normal swagger and demeanor and bid goodnight to the commodore. He swept out of the room and keeping to his word, had not shown his face in Port Royale since.
As Norrington finished the tale he noticed that his son was sitting on the edge of the chair, wringing his hands.
"You've known this entire time who she was and who her father was, and yet you've kept this a secret." James remarked, not sure how he felt about the situation.
James had been raised in a black and white world. Pirates were bad and naval officers were good. And it was up to the navy to make the seas safe from evil pirates. Pirate captains and naval commodores do not make deals in the dead of night, especially not his father.
"And now you're trying to find Sparrow. You believe she will go to him."
Norrington watched his son go through several different expressions in the span of a few minutes. Truth be told, he was glad to have told his son, feeling better than keeping the secret to himself.
"No wonder mother had gotten so angry that day." James muttered to himself, still reeling from the story he had been told.
"I promised to protect her, son, just as I would have you or Eric. I feel that I have failed my task." Norrington replied, feeling the failure gnaw at his brain.
James offered his father a weak smile. "If she's anything like her father then I doubt there was much you could have done to keep her here."
His father smiled.
James took a deep breath and looked at his father. "I promise that I will help you find her and we will keep her out of harms way."
Norrington gave a smile as his thanks. His son retired to bed, leaving him to his own thoughts.
AN: Yay! I finally finished this blasted chapter! I apologize for its lateness but I am have a most difficult time trying to write Jack Sparrow. He's such a complex character! Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed it, any constructive criticism on Jack is welcome! ~Anlei~
By Anlei
Chapter Eleven
Annabelle went upstairs as the night began to await Gibbs. Instead of leaving a week later they had to try and find a way to Tortuga that night. It worried her that Norrington was out looking for Jack. What could he possibly want? He hadn't spoken of this man in all the days Annabelle worked for him. Whatever it was she wondered if it involved her in anyway. She hoped it hadn't. If Norrington knew Jack was her father it would only cause more problems.
Gibbs came to her door at midnight when the tavern was at its busiest and most of the men were too drunk to tell the difference between night and day. He told her to meet him by the back entrance after he handled a few things. Annabelle had long since packed her belongings and left them sitting on a chair with the sword Will gave to her.
She quickly braided her hair and spun it like a coil on her head which she hid under the hat. Gibbs had left a man's overcoat, which she quickly threw over her shoulders. It was worn and old and held a musty scent to it that invaded her nose quite unpleasantly. The coat itself was too big on her small frame but it hid her shape well enough. Hat and coat in tow she grabbed her effects and slipped down the back stairs to the kitchen and stood waiting for Gibbs.
He was already there talking to a younger man with a scar dragging down the left side of his face. From his haggard look Annabelle gathered he was another pirate, probably a friend of Jack's. He was going to look after the tavern until Gibbs saw fit to return.
The walk to the port was quiet and hurried. Gibbs leaned on Annabelle as if in need of support whenever he felt that a marine was watching them too closely. If stopped he told the officers that the young apprentice was merely accompanying him home. And if they were asked for a name Gibbs would make up one. Most of the marines stationed were too young to have made an acquaintance with him so he could easily pass them without arousing too much suspicion.
Once at the port, they paid for their passage and slipped onto a barge virtually unnoticed. They moved into a small back quarter with little room for the two of them. Luckily, the trip to Tortuga would take a little over a day to complete. Gibbs rested in a chair and Annabelle sat on the bed. She crossed her legs in a mans fashion, never having that much freedom to move in a dress.
"You might as well get comfortable, lass. You and I aren't to leave this room until we're well on our way. You don't get sea-sick do you?" He asked clearly not wanting to deal with it if she did.
"Not so much." She replied. Though she hadn't been on a ship for quite some time, she felt at home on one. She just had to get used to it again. If she was aboard a pirate ship with her mother for so long she gathered that she must have been able to handle it or her mother wouldn't have kept her aboard for so long.
"What could Norrington want with Jack...er, my father?" Calling Jack her father sounded very foreign to her. It was strange. She had never really said those words out loud. But it felt nice.
Gibbs noted the change but only smiled. "What else does a commodore want with a pirate but to hang him?" He asked.
Annabelle shook her head in disagreement. "But he's never mentioned Jack before. I'm sure that I would have heard something in his house. He has other naval officers over for dinner and for work all the time. And with the way the other maids gossip, especially about important matters, I would have heard about it." Annabelle argued.
"For his sake I hope your right, lass. But that still doesn't explain why he'd be lookin' for Jack."
He was right. But Norrington couldn't know that Annabelle and Jack were connected. Could he?
Gibbs settled in with a bottle of rum and proceeded to drink himself into slumber. Annabelle stretched out on the stiff bed and grasped the sword in her small hands. She slowly pulled the wrapping from around the blade and pulled the steel from the sheath.
"Mama, when do I get to have a sword??" "When you're old enough not to hurt yourself with one."
Annabelle smiled to herself, feeling the tears stinging the backs of her eyes. She replaced the sword and laid it next to her things by the bed. Closing her eyes she allowed sleep to claim her body.
Back on steady ground a commodore sat awake in his study, peering into the fire. His oldest son sat next to him, curiously watching his father through the firelight. Catching his son's inquisitive gaze he bore a short grin. He and his child had been sitting for nearly thirty minutes without either saying a word. He knew James was curious to know what was playing in his head and the commodore argued with himself about telling his son.
"You know, you do the exact same thing your mother does when she's trying to read my mind?" Norrington remarked quietly.
"Do I? I was under the impression that I behaved mostly like you." His son replied with a happy grin.
"You share a few qualities with your mother."
Silence fell over them once more and James fidgeted in his seat in a manner unbecoming of a naval captain.
"Just say it, James. I'm your father here not your superior." Norrington murmured gently. James looked to his father and shrugged.
"It's just that I've never quite seen you like this before unless you and mother had a rather brutal row. You seem to be having more of those lately. Is it because of that pirate you had me looking for?" James asked.
"Sparrow is only part of it." Norrington replied.
"Then you're worried about Miss Annabelle, I suppose?" His son asked. Norrington was quiet, not entirely wanting to delve into that subject.
He knew he had driven Annabelle to leave. That didn't surprise him. It worried him more than anything. She barely knew anything about the pirate world unless her memories suddenly decided to come back. Even so, he hardly believed that she would be capable of dealing with the situation alone. How could she simply run off like that?
"She is rash and young. She's acting out of her heart rather than her mind. I merely worry for her safety." Norrington replied stiffly.
James raised a dark brow in disbelief. "Father, if you would have me to believe it were so simple, you would have to try harder." Norrington ceased gazing into the fire and turned to his son, sternly. Though, his son would not cower from that gaze like he used to.
"I can see that you care for her as if she were your daughter. I wager that is the reason you and mother argue so often." James remarked bravely. The subject of his parents fights were not something to speak of without feeling the need to duck for cover.
Norrington opened his mouth deny it, only to sigh and lean back in his chair. He ran his fingers through his hair, having long removed the cursed wig for the evening.
"It's no secret that your mother and I...disagree on many things. This so happens to be one of them, yes." He admitted quietly.
"I don't understand. You've never treated any of the other maids the way you treat her. Why did you bring her to our house?" James asked.
He was not jealous but merely curious. He knew that his father loved him and he, in this situation, had a better life that Annabelle did. He had his father and he was grateful he did not have to endure what she did. However, even though is father was indeed a caring man underneath it all, it surprised him when he walked in the door that day with a dark skinned, morose looking child behind him.
Norrington was quiet, inwardly debating if he should tell his son the secret he had kept for so many years. He had made a promise, one he now failed to keep. He knew his son well enough to know that he could be trusted. And he would need all the help he could get in order to deal with the situation. No, his son did not deserve to be left in the dark.
"I made a promise many years ago that I would care for her in the event that no one else could." Norrington sighed.
"You mean this is something more than simple charity father?" James asked, growing more and more curious as the moments went on.
"Yes. In a way it was a debt I owed in honor of my life." Norrington rubbed the space above his eyes, feeling the headache growing.
"I don't understand." James replied.
"No, of course not, son. You haven't heard the entire story. But I suppose now is a good time to tell you. Let me tell you how I came upon Annabelle as a child." Norrington remarked, allowing his memories to drift back to that particular night all those years ago...
Commodore James Norrington, one of the highest paid men in the navy, most dedicated, loyal, respected, and more importantly the only man able to locate and track down nearly every pirate ship in the Caribbean, found himself at the mercy of one.
"It looks to me, that we have ourselves quite the situation here, mate." Spoke a voice in the silky, drunken drawl that could only belong to Captain Jack Sparrow.
Norrington sneered, irritated at himself for having been so foolish. He was unprepared and caught unawares. Jack Sparrow was only too happy to rub this little mistake in his face. He was practically beaming from the fact the he—a lowly pirate—had managed to actually surprise the infamous Commodore. He could imagine it now; he'd be even more renowned than he already was. But that wasn't the best part. The best part lay purely in the look on the great Commodore's face.
"What sort of games are you playing at, Sparrow?" He demanded clearly struggling to keep his anger in check.
"Now, now, Commodore, no need to get your perfect knickers in a twist. S'not everyday we get to have such a rendezvous'." Jack Sparrow grinned from ear to ear.
Norrington suppressed the urge to groan in irritation.
"There's not a day that goes by, Sparrow, where I would actually want to be in your presence. What do you want from me, revenge?" Norrington remarked impatiently.
He wanted nothing more to go home. He was tired and hungry and not at all prepared to deal with a pirate in the side alley of a tavern. Nor was he entirely in the right state of mind. He'd tossed back a few drinks with some of his fellow officers, not enough to render him helplessly drunk, but enough to keep him off balance. And if it's one thing that Norrington was sure of, it was that Captain Jack Sparrow was no easy match with a sword.
"Nothing of the sort, in fact. Merely a word or two then I'll be on my merry way." He replied silkily.
Norrington fought the urge to snort, knowing very well that a "word or two" could mean could mean trouble for him, the sort of trouble he'd only live to regret.
"Might there be a place we could talk, commodore?" He smirked, devilishly.
"What makes you think I'll go anywhere with you, Sparrow?" Norrington asked.
"I just saved your life, commodore. You at least owe me that, mate." He replied, gesturing to the two bodies strewn across the ground.
Norrington glanced at them and scowled. He hadn't seen them coming. Rather, he'd been a bit too foggy to notice. He was thoroughly surprised when they'd been defeated, by a pirate no less. He quickly overcame the surprise and replaced it with anger. In the back of his mind he was confused. Why would Sparrow save him? What could he possibly want, other than to do the job himself?
"What say you, commodore? Willin' to give a pirate your trust for a bit?" He grinned, half hearted and showing his gleaming gold teeth.
Norrington fought the urge to throw the invitation back in the pirate's laughing face while grinding his teeth into dust. After all, he was partly curious, no matter how foolhardy it seemed. He wanted to know why Jack Sparrow, a man he chased around the seas and tried to hang—a number of times—wanted an audience with him.
"My trust, Jack Sparrow, is not something you'll be receiving. However, I will allow you the chance to explain yourself." He replied in a huff of irritation.
"Captain, Captain Jack Sparrow."
Settled in Norrinton's office, a rather bold move on Sparrow's part, the pirate made himself comfortable in one of the chairs by Norrington's desk, sweeping his dirty boots upon the surface. He leaned back and smirked, fully enjoying the position he'd put the officer in.
"Kindly remove your filthy boots from my desk, Sparrow." Norrington demanded none too nicely.
Raising his hands in defeat and shrugging helplessly, Jack placed his feet back on the floor.
"Speak up, Sparrow. There is very little keeping me from locking you behind bars." Norrington spat.
"Oh but you won't be doing that will you, commodore? Despite the rather large stick up your arse you're a man of honor, a man of your word. Which is why I sought you out tonight."
"What do you mean?" Norrington place himself in the chair directly in front of Jack, careful to keep on guard.
"I need a favor." Jack replied. It was the only time Norrington had ever see him act normal, without the drunken, clownish flair he normally had.
"I beg your pardon?" Norrington sputtered, eyes narrowing. What was the world coming to when Captain Jack Sparrow came to him for a favor?
"No games, commodore. Just a simple, request, really."
"I am not at your beck and call, Sparrow. And a request from you would be something I'd surely regret." Norrington scowled.
Jack Sparrow reclined in the chair with a strange glint in his eye
"You have a son, don't you, commodore? Smart young lad, probably wants to be just like you when he grows up I'd wager, hunting lowly scallywags and all..."
Fear gripped Norrington's heart and he felt as if he'd been doused with ice water.
"If you in ANY way lay a hand on MY son--!" Norrington was barely able to keep himself in his chair.
"Calm yourself, man," Sparrow began, interrupting him, "I haven't touched your precious son, savvy?"
"Then why--?"
"I got one of me own, a daughter, I mean."
This admission surprised Norrington a bit. And made him even more suspicious.
"What does she have to do with me?" He asked, calming down.
Norrington watched as the spark faded from Jack's eyes. The change was barely noticeable but he managed to catch the fleeting sadness that washed over his darkened face, before he hid them away.
"I'm asking you to look after her."
Norrington could barely keep the shock off his face. Jack wanted to entrust the care of his daughter to him. He was half tempted to look out into the night sky and see if pigs were flying around.
"Why have you entrusted this task to me?" He managed to ask.
Jack was silent for a moment, watching the commodore closely.
"Tell me something, commodore, why is it you didn't have me killed? You had the perfect chance, with me and the boy surrounded and all. You're greatest nemesis would be dead right now." Jack asked.
"You are hardly my greatest nemesis, Sparrow." Norrington snorted, not willing to give him that satisfaction. Though it was probably enough to know that he could easily get under the commodore's skin.
"Bob's your uncle, mate." His lips formed his trade mark devil-may-care smirk.
Why had he let Sparrow escape?
Begrudgingly, he admitted to himself that it was because, despite how long he had hated pirates, Turner was right. Jack Sparrow was a good man, albeit a bumbling and rather tiresome one but still good nonetheless. He never did feel that secure in hanging the pirate that day. Though, as shameful as it was his pride and position kept him from releasing the pirate. Norrington remained silent, unsure of what to say.
That blasted smirk only widened.
"Just as I thought, mate. Didn't have the heart eh? Can't blame you really, can't resist me charms." He murmured.
"Another word and I will have you hung." Norrington threatened, both of them knowing good and well that it was an empty threat.
"I want to make sure my Annie's in good hands." He replied somewhat softly.
"And you believe I can do this? Why is she not with you? Norrington asked, watching as Jack's expression hardened, revealing nothing about how he felt.
"Let's just say the woman and I had a disagreement."
"Why not Turner? Surely, he'd be happy to take her in."
"The boy's got enough problems of his own. Being married to that blasted woman's trouble enough..." He replied. He liked Elizabeth and he wished Will all the luck in the world to be able to handle her.
Norrington secretly agreed. Elizabeth was a firecracker of a woman. She fit into the role of a noble woman well. But when she set her mind to something, nothing short of a bullet could stop her and maybe not even that. He smiled inwardly. His own wife mirrored the same fiery spirit as well.
"Besides, as a commodore, I'm sure you could overlook one or two things, bend the rules a bit, eh?" Jack added.
Of course if he took in a child of a pirate and kept her as a maid in his house, none of his crew would dare to question him. He was well respected and he knew they would look the other way.
All of this seemed strange. First, his fleet brings down the Hydra the previous night, which prompted some celebration among his fellow officers. Then Sparrow appears after having evaded the commodore for years. Now that the fog had begun to clear away from his mind he remembered hearing about one child found and placed in the infirmary for a head injury.
"Your daughter, she's the young girl they found on the Hydra, is she not?" He asked.
"Aye." He replied simply, watching the other man.
"I must say, Sparrow, this comes as quite a surprise. The men under my command sunk that ship and could have very well killed your child and here you are asking me to look after her."
"I know for a fact, commodore, that you haven't set foot on a ship in years. You probably had less to do with that attack than you did with the hangings."
It was true. Since the black pearl, marriage, and children, he had somehow changed. He didn't fully realize it until one morning over breakfast that he hadn't been putting much effort into going after pirates. He had left the task to his first in command and resigned himself to protecting the port. In fact, he realized with some surprise, that he had lost the drive for persecuting pirates. He scowled to himself wondering when he had become so soft.
"Have you been keeping tabs on me?" Norrington demanded.
"Someone's got to keep you on your toes, mate." The pirate shrugged.
"I have a wife and two sons, Sparrow, I don't need any more help than that."
Norrington leaned back in the chair and rubbed the bridge of his nose. By God, he was actually considering it. And the more the thought about it the more he realized that he was actually going to do it. His wife would have his head for this, he was sure.
"Do we have an agreement?" Jack's smooth drawl interrupted his thoughts.
"If I am to do this, you cannot be waltzing around Port Royale simply because I have done you a favor. I am able to bend the rules for her. You, on the other hand had better hope that no one under my command finds you or there will be nothing I can do this time." Norrington replied carefully.
"No worries, mate. I'll not return here, as long as I know you treat her right." The glint in Jack's eyes went from playful to dangerous as he spoke. It was obvious that he loved the girl very much. Norrington figured it must have hurt to not be involved in her life. He shuddered at the thought of their roles being reversed and never being able to see his sons again.
"You have nothing to worry about. She will not come to harm." Norrington assured him.
Not much was said afterwards. Jack resumed his normal swagger and demeanor and bid goodnight to the commodore. He swept out of the room and keeping to his word, had not shown his face in Port Royale since.
As Norrington finished the tale he noticed that his son was sitting on the edge of the chair, wringing his hands.
"You've known this entire time who she was and who her father was, and yet you've kept this a secret." James remarked, not sure how he felt about the situation.
James had been raised in a black and white world. Pirates were bad and naval officers were good. And it was up to the navy to make the seas safe from evil pirates. Pirate captains and naval commodores do not make deals in the dead of night, especially not his father.
"And now you're trying to find Sparrow. You believe she will go to him."
Norrington watched his son go through several different expressions in the span of a few minutes. Truth be told, he was glad to have told his son, feeling better than keeping the secret to himself.
"No wonder mother had gotten so angry that day." James muttered to himself, still reeling from the story he had been told.
"I promised to protect her, son, just as I would have you or Eric. I feel that I have failed my task." Norrington replied, feeling the failure gnaw at his brain.
James offered his father a weak smile. "If she's anything like her father then I doubt there was much you could have done to keep her here."
His father smiled.
James took a deep breath and looked at his father. "I promise that I will help you find her and we will keep her out of harms way."
Norrington gave a smile as his thanks. His son retired to bed, leaving him to his own thoughts.
AN: Yay! I finally finished this blasted chapter! I apologize for its lateness but I am have a most difficult time trying to write Jack Sparrow. He's such a complex character! Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed it, any constructive criticism on Jack is welcome! ~Anlei~