Four: Awake

Norrington woke with a headache fit for the devil. He groaned as the pain roared through his skull and he thought it might just split in half. He blinked a few times, wondering where he was. Clearly he was not in the water, and he didn't think he was dead either.

His sight was blurry, but he could tell he was somewhere dim and guessing by the gentle rocking, he was on a ship. He shifted, for he was uncomfortable, and that's when he realized his wrists and ankles had been fettered to the wall behind him. Vision clearing he saw he was locked in a small cell and by the looks of it, the cell next to him was occupied as well.

James swore, and as his body awoke even more he could feel pain blooming all over. His hands had gone numb from being held above him and his arms were painfully tired. He could feel the bruises on his knees from having been pressed against the hard wood of the floor and his feet were numb too. They were chained together and then to the wall, though he didn't know why. Clearly he was unable to go anywhere with his hands chained.

They must really hate me to make me this uncomfortable, he thought dismally.

But who were they? Who had taken him from the ocean and locked him up? Surely Sparrow had not returned to Port Royal. Norrington shook his head; he could not picture Sparrow doing something like this when Norrington had chosen not to pursue him that day he'd escaped with Will's help. Sparrow was not the malicious help.

So then who had taken him hostage, and why?

Next time I'll do a better job of killing myself, he thought, but deep down, James knew he didn't want to die and wouldn't try again.

A groan from the cell next to his caught his attention. James looked over at the brown haired man in the cell, chained up the same way he was. The man shook his head before bringing it up to look around.

"Will?" Norrington was shocked.

Will looked over at his fellow prisoner, confusion clear on his face. "Norrington?" He'd never been able to bring himself to call Norrington by his first name. It seemed to personal, and Will did not feel the need to be personal with Norrington.

"What in the bloody hell is going on? Do you know who this ship belongs to?"

Will shook his head, still groggy. "Last…last I remember was a beautiful lady in my shop looking at swords. And now I wake up in the brig of a ship. You don't know why you're here?"

Norrington swallowed. He did not dare tell Will what he was doing before he mysteriously ended up on this ship. Will would not understand. The young brat would probably laugh and then gloat further about how he had won Liz's heart while James had failed. "No. I was…out walking. Someone must have hit me on the head and dragged me here. I'm just as confused as you."

Will struggled against his chains. "We have to escape! What if there are others in trouble? What about Liz?"

Hearing her name on Will's lips made Norrington cringe, but the boy had a point. Port Royal might be in trouble, though Norrington had his doubts. If something had happened why only take Will and himself? Maybe Jack Sparrow had returned and this was a friendly prank.

But it didn't feel like Sparrow. James sensed something was wrong, but he felt it really only concerned Will and himself. He knew he would be able to tell if Liz was in trouble, and he had no such feelings at the moment.

"How do you propose we escape while bound such?" James asked, not trying to hide the contempt at such a stupid idea from his voice.

Will opened his mouth and then closed it. He had no answer. He scowled. Why does Norrington have to be such a pompous snot?

"Escape? Gentlemen, we're at sea, there's nowhere for you to go." A feminine voice came from the stairs that led into the brig. A figure stood in the shadows, only faintly outlined by the light that spilled from the deck.

"Who are you?" Norrington asked firmly, not afraid of a woman. "Why have you locked us up? What do you want?"

"So many questions at once. I'd thought you might ask to have your chains removed first, but you always were one to get to the point, James. Or so I've heard anyway. Of course, I'd also heard you were quite a bit of trouble for pirates. However I seemed to have captured you without the slightest hassle. Has the great Commodore Norrington finally fallen?" She stressed the word Commodore as she stepped from the shadows and James knew that somehow she'd realized he wasn't in the position anymore.

"You! It's you!" Will exclaimed, his chains rattling as he struggled against them.

"Oh, you're a bright one, Turner." She spat.

"You're the woman from my shop…Evelyn something. How did you bring me here? Why?"

"Boys, boys, so many questions! I've got a few of my own to ask as well. Like what was the once famous Commodore doing throwing himself from the battlements?" She winked at James and then turned to Will. "And where can I find Jack Sparrow?"

Will turned to Norrington. "Throwing yourself from the battlements? You told me someone hit you on the head while you were out walking!"

Eve made a tsk noise with her tongue. "James, doing a bit of lying? I thought you were an honest man. I'm disappointed."

Norrington scowled. "What do you want with us?"

"Answers. I want answers. At least from Turner. As for you, I haven't decided what use you are. Maybe you won't be any use at all and I'll send to you to visit Davy Jones."

"What do you care about Jack Sparrow?" Will asked, emotion in his voice.

Evelyn laughed. "You're good friends with that rat, aren't you? Doesn't he write you any? After all, you saved his life. Where is he hiding out now?"

Will set his jaw stubbornly and refused to answer. Evelyn took that to mean he knew where Jack was but was going to try to play the good friend, but she'd get him to talk. Oh yes, she'd get him to talk.

"Now that you're awake I think it would be easier to speak to you if you were separated." She swirled a ring of keys around a delicate finger as she made her way to Norrington's cell. She unlocked the door and stepped in, leaning over him to unlock his arms from the wall. She pressed her stomach into his face and felt him turn away, but not immediately. With a clank his chains were released from the wall, and though his hands were still bound at the wrists he could at least get the circulation back into his arms.

She knelt down beside him to release his feet from the wall and out of the corner of her eye she saw him glancing at her cleavage. She smiled to herself. He pretended to be proper, but he was the same as any man. And if it'd been as long as she suspected, there was a definite chance she could use him to her advantage.

Once freed from the wall she helped him stand. He almost fell a couple times, his limbs numb and he found it awkward to walk with his ankles chained to one another. He scowled and wished she would unchain him completely, but he did not think this woman was that stupid. He was unarmed, but with his hands free he could have easily taken the sword from her hip.

"Come on," Evelyn said as she helped him up the stairs. "It's not easy to walk fettered, aye? Now you know how those you've captured felt." She gave him a shove up the steps and smirked as he stumbled and fell to his knees just as he reached the deck. Over the laughter of the crew she heard Will shouting.

"What about me? When will you release me?"

Eve let the door to the brig slam shut, cutting off the cries of Turner. She'd deal with him later. Now that she had him captured she had all the time in the world.