Title: The Afterglow
Rating: This Chapter: PG-13 Overall NC-17
Pairing: Jack Sparrow / James Norrington, Jack Sparrow / Will Turner, side pairings (FPS)
Warnings: violence, character death
Summary: Let there be insane soap opera plot twists from hell. And buggery. Lots of it. This story resumes after the ending of Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl.
Disclaimer: At no point do I claim any form of ownership of any of the characters depicted in this piece. My representations of them are not necessarily indicative of the intentions of their original creators. The plot in which I place these characters holds no relationship to their original context. I make no profit from borrowed characters. Don't sue me.
Word Count: 429

VIII. Hell Hath No Fury

Tears stung Elizabeth's eyes as she slammed open the door of a gun chest in Norrington's house. She rummaged almost blindly until she found a loaded pistol. Her mind was glazed over with fury and she did not give heed to any internal warning against what she was about to do. She clamored to her feet and cocked the pistol, stumbling at full speed back toward the bedroom.

She entered the room and pointed the pistol squarely at Norrington's chest. He had begun to pull on his clothes, but stopped in his place.

"Where's Jack!" She shouted. Norrington looked at the open window, curtains billowing gently in the night breeze. She pointed the gun toward the window and squinted, but nothing substantial could be seen of the outside. Jack was gone. She'd deal with him later. Then Elizabeth turned again on the Commodore. He was too surprised to offer protest. He stood wide-eyed as Elizabeth pulled the trigger.

The sound of a great blast filled the little room and a tuft of smoke rose up between the pair. Norrington's hand went immediately to his chest. He pulled it away and gasped as he looked at the blood on his hand. The Commodore extended the hand toward Elizabeth, begging for he knew not what. He fell to his knees, still half undressed and coughed his last breath. As the blood sprayed from his lips he gave Elizabeth a final pleading look and fell face-first onto the floor. Elizabeth watched as the blood pooled around him, staining his white hair.

She thought quickly. The servants would have heard the shot. She could easily blame it on Jack who would be gone from the cell in the morning. She threw the pistol out the window, into the bushes below the ledge. They would find it later as they searched for Jack's trail. Then Elizabeth staged her entrance to the scene and let out a terrifying scream. She flung herself onto her knees beside the Commodore's body and cradled his head, waiting for the servants to arrive.

She wept and moaned until they tore her away from Norrington's still-warm corpse and she told them her story: She had let herself in, hearing a commotion from outside and discovered the Commodore struggling with Jack. Just as the door swung open, Jack stepped back and shot Norrington who died instantly. Then, Jack leapt out the window and was gone into the night. She was sent to her father's house to grieve and never questioned further.

Jack never heard the shot.