Disclaimer: I do not own anything from PotC.
Chapter Sixteen:
"Off to do battle with the wicked Frenchmen?" a familiar voice chided.
Looking up, James turned to stare into a pair of blue eyes that he hadn't seen in well over five years. Eyes he had believed to be closed in death. "Prescott?"
"Hello, James," the other man greeted, his voice light and genial as ever.
Prescott Tarret, feared pirate now and a loyal friend a lifetime ago, stepped out of the shadows into the dim light of the study. James bit off a startled gasp. Where his own hair had turned as white as the wigs he used to wear, Prescott's was still the same shade of coppery brown it had been the day James first met the intrepid captain. Long, thin streaks of gray sprouted up at his temples, disappeared beneath his wide brimmed hat, and spilled out down his slightly wavy pigtail, but where James looked old, Prescott looked ageless. Instead of being marred and disjointed by wrinkles, the skin of his face was taut and tanned as fine leather. His icy blue eyes still glinted with mischief and a deeper, sly cunning that few men ever possessed.
James did not know if the freedom or the danger of piracy kept Prescott young, but something surely had acted as a fountain of youth. No doubt the former Navy hero could turn as many heads now as he had in his twenties. Prescott was the kind of pirate that authors would someday write romance tales about. The dashing rogue who was both a gentleman and a scoundrel, with a heart of pure gold beating within his chest. He had a quick wit, a devilish smile, and an infuriating habit of continually outsmarting James and the rest of the Royal Navy.
"For heaven's sake, James, quit staring at me like that," Prescott remarked, his smile revealing only a few telltale lines around his eyes and mouth. "You look as though you've seen a ghost."
"There aren't any Frenchmen in my harbor, are there?" James asked, already knowing the answer.
"No," Prescott's smile widened. "But there are a good number of pirates with one hell of a froggy accent saying 'Je ne comprend pas." He winked as he said words in a perfectly spoken enemy language.
"Prescott Tarret speaking French? What is this world coming to?" James made an attempt at a joke, but there was no mirth in his voice. He could only think on the fact that if Annie's older brother had arrived, then she would soon be leaving and his life with a woman he did not love would continue indefinitely. Not that James wished bad things for Elizabeth, but, for once, he simply wanted the good thing that had happened in his life to go on a while longer.
Then, almost as though thinking of her had made her appear, Elizabeth burst through the office doors. "James," she was saying, like she had been speaking the whole way up from the veranda. Her voice was a harsh whisper, probably meant to keep Annie and the servants from overhearing. "No matter what you intend to do about this debacle, I am still your wife. I will not tolerate being completely disregarded like – " She abruptly stopped moving and speaking, almost like she'd walked into a clear glass wall in the middle of the room, upon seeing that her husband was not alone in his study. Her brown eyes narrowed as she glared at the spot where Prescott's right arm would have been and saw that the sleeve of his bright white shirt had been pinned. She instantly recognized Lefty Scott, for she had met him prior to this day. A further narrowing of her eyes indicating that her memories of that encounter were less than pleasant.
The pirate smirked, seemingly amused by the effect he had on the blonde woman. Prescott had once commented that Elizabeth reminded him of his former wife, no doubt that was part of the reason he enjoyed antagonizing her. "Wedded bliss," he started. "T'is quite a thing to behold."
"I trust you're here to collect your sister," Elizabeth said, her voice haughty and cold. James wished he will her to give up this particular fight and just leave, but he knew he could no more do that than he could walk on water.
Prescott nodded, his smirk not wavering.
"Good," Norrington's wife declared. "Her unseemly behavior has caused quite enough trouble." Elizabeth lifted her chin so that she could look down her nose at Prescott, despite their difference in height.
James almost sighed. This was precisely the kind of confrontation he had been hoping to avoid. Letting his eyes flutter closed, he brought his hand to his brow, knowing full well what would come next. Elizabeth had once gone to sea, following her love interest Will Turner, and lived aboard the Black Pearl with Jack Sparrow. Her stubbornness had been an asset, and she had somehow managed to curb the holier than thou attitude characteristic of governor's daughters. Jack Sparrow, however, partly owed his life to Elizabeth. She could get away with a little snobbishness because Jack had considered her a friend. Prescott was a different story entirely. He harbored no such amiable feelings towards the woman. In fact, he openly disliked her.
The chiding smirk vanished, and James saw Lefty Scott, not Prescott Tarret, standing in his study. "Miss Swann," he began.
"Mrs. Norrington," Elizabeth corrected.
"Do not interrupt," Prescott instructed. "I've neither the time nor the heart to touch on the particular tragedy of your marriage."
Elizabeth looked as though she intended to respond. James shot her a warning stare and shook his head slightly.
"As I was saying," Prescott's glance shifted briefly to Norrington, indicating that he'd seen James send his wife a silent message. "There are two kinds of pirates in our world, Miss Elizabeth." The fact that he didn't call her Mrs. Norrington did not go unnoticed by Elizabeth or her husband. "There's the kind who believes he owes you some sort of courtesy because you once helped him escape the noose, and then there's the sort who's seen through your self-righteous charade and doesn't give a damn about your opinion." Prescott paused, his glare deadly serious. "Be certain you know which sort you're dealing with before you make the mistake of insulting someone he loves."
"You dare to threaten me in my own home?" Elizabeth said.
Prescott closed the distance between himself and the lady, so that he stood at her shoulder towering nearly a foot above her. "Do not cross me, Miss Elizabeth," he said. "That is a warning, not a threat."
"Prescott," James finally interjected. Elizabeth was behaving like a spoiled child, and James was appalled that she hadn't learned to curb her tongue after the affair on the porch, but he felt responsible for defending her just the same. "I'll not have you speak to my wife in such a manner."
Turning back to Norrington, the amused smirk reappeared on the pirate's face. "Yet, you will allow my sister to hold a knife to her throat?"
James' mouth fell open.
"Your office affords quite a nice view of the patio," Prescott observed offhandedly. Clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth, he leered back at Elizabeth. "What did you say to her?"
The lady's eyebrow rose, and James wanted to run across the room and plant his hand in front of her lips. "I only called her out as the tart she truly is." Norrington drew in a deep breath. He almost could have hit her.
Nothing about Prescott's posture or expression changed, but he suddenly became a crouched panther, poised to strike. Unbeknownst to her, Elizabeth may have never been in more danger than she was at this moment. "My dear," Prescott started. "If you are fond of your tongue's present position inside of your mouth, I would advise you to use it a bit less." Elizabeth, mercifully, kept silent. Despite his whisper, leaned in close to the lady's ear, James heard Prescott's next words quite clearly. "I've killed much better people than you, Sweet Elizabeth."
James paled at the edge in Prescott's voice. He had no doubt in the truth of that statement. Elizabeth's fists clenched at her sides. "Fine," she said through gritted teeth. "I'll leave it to Anamaria to tell you how she's disrupted my house." Turning on her heels, Norrington's wife left the study, slamming the double doors behind her.
When Norrington finally met Prescott's eyes again, he saw there a knowing suspicion. James quickly banished thoughts of last night when he'd lain with Annie, so that her brother would not be able to see a replay on his face. Prescott shifted his weight and brought one up across his chest, a gesture no doubt left over from a time when he'd two arms to cross. "What is she talking about, James?" he asked, the muscles in his jaw twitched slightly. "For, I can think of only one disruption my sister could create that would infuriate the wife but bear no mention from the husband."
Damn his eyes, why did Prescott always have to be so bloody perceptive. James lowered his eyes, for the first time feeling very ashamed of his indiscretion.
"I wonder," Prescott started, seeming to derive an answer from Norrington's body language. "Why it is you never just told her how you felt."
A hundred different reasons came to James' mind, none of which he could voice to Annie's brother. He couldn't tell Prescott that her dark skin set her so apart from proper society that only a man who cared nothing for his status could wed her. No more could he bring up the fact that Prescott's own indecorous behavior, giving up the position of Admiral, caused Annie to fall further from grace. So, he said the most embarrassing of all the reasons, "Every man your sister has ever met has been instantly at her feet," he started. "I would have been just another in a very long line."
The pirate's expression implied that he knew there was more to it than that, but he said nothing to that effect. His normally communicative blue eyes were unreadable beyond that faint disbelief.
"I …I am not proud of my behavior," James said. "But, I do not regret what I did."
"That is well, James, for you may find yourself having to fight for her."
Norrington's brow furrowed. "Fight?" he repeated questioningly. "Fight who?" Prescott said nothing, but some how his silence was louder than any words could have been. Jack Sparrow. But how could that be? Certainly doing battle with Sparrow's memory would not prove so difficult … James' eyes widened with understanding. Not so difficult unless, that is, Sparrow was not simply a memory. He felt his eyes widen further as his jaw clenched and unclenched. He sought Prescott's face, which was still stony and impassive. "My God," James breathed. "He isn't dead."
TBC
Well, it's been far too long, but I have by no means abandoned this story. So, stick with me and, as always, have patience, and I'll get it finished!
Alicia: I agree that it certainly would've been interesting to see John stick around for Ana and Liz's little altercation. I wonder how he would've reacted to all that! Your predictions about the mystery ship weren't exactly on the mark, but you were right to be suspicious of the ship (as this chapter proved) and you may still be right to be worried about Gilette (awful of me to leave vague hints like that, isn't it). Lastly, while this reunion wasn't particularly horrible, next chapter will finally put Ana and Jack back together, so you can look forward to much awkwardness and much angst!
SylviaD:You're warming to it, I'm beyond happy! This is a sad, angsty story, there's no getting around that, but I'm glad you're seeing a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. I think you're seeing a little less gloom and doom b/c Ana's starting to act like the Ana we all know and love. She isn't just silently taking what Lizzie has to dish out, she's fighting back. I think the doomed feeling you got from this story could have been caused by the fact that both our heroes had appeared to have given up. That is depressing. But, and I hope I'm not giving too much away, neither Ana nor Jack will take much more lying down, and you can't help but feel hopeful when the characters decide to stand up and fight for themselves and each other! One other note, about everyone's ages. You're absolutely right, they're in the twilight years. As you already mentioned, most people in this time period don't get to live out their wildest dreams. Jack, Pres, and Ana did just that, however. So, I would imagine that living the life they wanted would keep them young. As for James, well he probably does feel a bit old, but lets not forget he's the Admiral married to a governor's daughter. He's enjoying a life of priviledge and leisure, so it's not like he's got it so bad either. So, you can picture them in your head however you like, cause I think they still have the spirit of the people we met in the movie!
Cal: First of all, I'm so happy you picked up on the fact that Ana would not be called a gutter rat, cause I did use that same term to describe the company Jack had been keeping in Tortuga. I appreciate it so much when you notice stuff like that! I'm interested that you started to have a bit of sympathy for ol' Lizzie. I mean, I obviously don't much care for her, but you're right, you've gotta feel bad for her. Here she was thinking that Norry was completely enamored with her, and now she comes to find out that she isnt' the only one who had stronger feelings for someone else. That's got to feel like a brick to the gut. But, again, you're on the same wavelength as I am when thinking about Will. I don't know what it is about Will, but he just seemed like such a tragic character. The way he loves Lizzie in the movie and is prepared to do anything for her, just left me feeling like he would get burned eventually. (How's that for cynical). And for my last bit of Liz bashing in this author's note, I'm glad you were outraged about her treatement of Will, Ana, and Jack on the Pearl. I think she probably couldn't help it. She really wanted to fit in with that life, but years of upper class breeding were working against her, so that she just couldn't be happy at sea. What really makes me sad is that she looked down her nose at Jack, cause that's just one more friend who's turned their back on him. Lastly, thanks for the sympathy for my kitten. I went and found a new friend for my remaining kitten and they seem very happy, so life goes on.
Yuna-Flowering: Well, here was the first of many interesting reunions. I hope I did not disappoint. And I do apologize for cutting short the epic arguement with Pres' arrival. Did this encounter make up for it, a little bit?
Ailidh: Thanks so much for leaving a review, I'm glad my stories seem to have ensnared you! And as long as my wonderful reviewers demand, I will certainly continue writing.
An-Angel-In-Hell: Thanks for the sympathy, and I'm glad you enjoyed the chappy. Pardon me for being a bit flighty, but I just noticed your name, are you a Phantom of the Operafan as well? I was just visiting my parents in Arizona and my mom and I went and saw it for the fourth time on stage. Yeah, I'm a bit obsessive. Anyway, just wondering.
DyingStar:Rooting for Lizzie, huh? Well, I have to give Ana the upper hand cause I love her, but I was interested in your opinions of Liz and Will. You're absolutely right, that we can't blame everything on Liz. Will was a bit weak to let go of his life since he couldn't have Liz in it, and that is a comparison I wanted to make with this story. Jack and Ana just thought they lost their one true love, and while Jack may have given in to his grief more than Ana, neither of them just gave up. They were both trying to move on, and I did want to contrast their strength with Will's lack thereof.So, thanks for picking up on that. As for Norry, well, he isn't really a coward. He just doesn't know who to step in and stick up for. If he supports Liz, then he betrays the woman he really cares for. If he sticks up for Ana, then he faces all sorts of problems with the woman he's more or less stuck with. It's quite the quandary.
Johnny-Cakes-Depp: I'm so glad to hear that you love Scotty, cause so do I. I hope you appreciated him in this chappy. As for more Jack, well, that's what the next chapter will be about, so stay tuned!
THANKS for all of the wonderful reviews!