Sorry for another long wait between chapters, all! Hope this doesn't disappoint, though - a bit of James angst, a bit of Elizabeth angst, and some rather confusing stuff involving Calypso that will (hopefully) become much more clear over the following chapters. That said, I own nothing, and please enjoy!

18. Prices Unpaid

James dashed into his cabin aboard the Interceptor and threw himself into the chair at his desk, burying his face in his arms in utter confusion and desperation. His mind was reeling with the memories of his conversation with Elizabeth that night, the last night he would see her before Will came for his one day on shore…

He had found himself sitting on a marble bench by a gently splashing fountain. The moon was full in the sky, and in the distance up a gravel pathway that wound through carefully trimmed hedges and trellises, he could see a grand mansion whose ballroom was lit from within by a number of glittering chandeliers. The air was pleasantly warm but not at all humid or sticky, and the air around him was strongly scented with the thick perfume of roses. James closed his eyes for a moment, feeling very much like he was back in England, and realizing that he had missed it more than he had ever admitted to himself.

When he opened his eyes, he saw Elizabeth walking up the gravel path towards him, dressed in a lovely dark red dress, the moonlight glinting off of the diamonds that sparkled at her throat. James stood up and bowed low to her in mock formality.

'May I ask you to sit a while with me, mademoiselle?' he asked, kissing her hand.

Elizabeth laughed. 'I'm afraid not, sir, now if you'll excuse me…' Before she could walk on, James had spun her round by the hand and she half-fell onto the bench, still laughing.

'Thank you for so politely joining me, Elizabeth – now, how have you been over the last three months?' asked James, taking a seat next to her with a mischievous grin that betrayed his polite tone.

His stomach gave an anxious jolt as her face fell. 'Oh, James,' Elizabeth sighed wearily, putting her hands to her face and unconsciously rubbing the bridge of her nose with her forefingers, eyes closed.

'Is everything all right?' he asked, his voice low and urgent. He reached out and grasped her hand comfortingly. 'Is it young James?'

Elizabeth smiled weakly. 'No, no, he's fine,' she reassured James, 'but… you're going to think I'm such a fool for saying this…' She would not meet his gaze. A long silence stretched between them. 'It's about Will,' she said finally. 'James, in four days I'm going to see him for the first time in ten years, and I can't tell you how worried I am. It sounds silly, I know, but ten years is such a long time, and I don't know how much we've both changed: What if we've grown apart, or I look too old, or he doesn't love me anymore… or I don't love him anymore?'

James slowly became aware that his heart was beating rather fast. He swallowed, a bit unsure of how to respond. 'I'm sure everything will work out fine,' he said. 'Will would still love you no matter how you had changed…'

'But, James, what if he doesn't?' Tears were beginning to creep into her voice. 'I've never told anyone this, but there was a time, right after I killed Jack, when every time he looked at me I thought he hated me, his eyes were so cold. It was like he could read my mind, like he knew I'd killed Jack and he knew I'd kissed him before I did it…' She gave a shaky sob. 'What if it's the same thing all over again, that jealousy and hatred? After I've waited for him all these years? What if I just can't put up with it?'

James gave her a startled look as she broke down in tears. Wrapping his arms about her, he pulled her close to him and let her cry onto his shoulder. As he breathed in the smell of her hair, delicate amidst the heavy scent of the roses, he wondered how she could worry that Will, or anyone else for that matter, would not love her.

'Hush,' he whispered softly into her ear. 'You've done nothing that would make Will turn away from you, even if he really could read your mind.'

She pulled away, tears glistening on her cheeks, her face a beautiful mask of sadness.

'Oh, but I have, James,' she whispered guiltily. 'I've made the biggest mistake of all. I've fallen in love with you too.'

And the next moment her lips were pressed to his, the salty tears sliding onto his cheeks as she kissed him, and he took her in his arms and never wanted to let her go, wanted to freeze time in this moment of passionate bliss, wanted to protect her forever from whatever she would face when Will came back…

'Stop,' he gasped, pushing her away roughly, feeling the fiery intensity of the kiss still tingling on his lips and the wild pulsing of his heart. Her eyes looked at him, filled with questions and pain. 'Elizabeth, I… I can't.'

'You can't what?' she breathed, looking imploringly at him.

He shook his head, trying to figure out how to explain to her the confusion that was flooding his senses, how he wanted her more than he had wanted anything, but he knew he could not have her. She had sworn her heart to Will, not to him. She belonged to the world of the living, he to the land of shadows.

'I'm sorry,' he finally whispered, and, turning away so she would not see the tear that fell down his cheek to mingle with the tears she had left on his cheeks, he rose slowly from the bench and walked off back into the darkness that would return him to the Locker.

James pounded a fist against the desk, feeling more conflicted even than when he had made his decision to steal the heart of Davy Jones from Will and Sparrow. 'Why?!' he roared in frustration to no one in particular. The sound of his outburst echoed hollowly through the empty ship.

'Because you wanted it,' replied a soft voice behind him.

James looked behind him and jumped slightly when he saw Calypso, dressed once more as a noblewoman, sitting on the edge of his bunk and regarding him with a knowing look. Trying not to let too much of the emotional pain he was feeling show on his face, James rose to his feet and gave her a bow much more serious than the one he had given Elizabeth only minutes before.

'How may I help you?' he asked, trying to keep his voice from breaking in his misery.

The goddess gave him a mysterious smile. 'The question, James Norrington, is how can I help you?'

James stared down at the floor, his hand clenched. 'It's not fair to her, that an act of selfishness on my part should make her so conflicted. I don't know what I'm supposed to do – I don't want to abandon her, but I can't keep visiting her and tear her heart apart.' He glanced up at the goddess. 'More than anything, I just want her to be happy.'

The goddess nodded, not even bothering to ask what he was talking about – James had the feeling she already knew.

'I think,' she replied cryptically, 'the time has come for me to collect my price.'

James stared at her a moment, wondering why on earth she had chosen this moment to remind him that he owed her a debt; the next second, he felt the anger well up in him unexpectedly, and his old wound began to throb. 'You don't care,' he said coldly. 'I'm just a pawn, then, am I? You don't care about my feelings, or Elizabeth's, or even Will Turner's… have you forgotten what happened when you betrayed the man you loved, when he betrayed you? Are you just going to stand by and let it happen again?' He glared at her. 'And how could you take Turner from her in the first place, after you went through so much pain yourself?'

Calypso blinked slowly, her expression unreadable. After a long moment, she said quietly, 'You know the law – the Dutchman must have a captain. It is how things keep in balance – I could not change it if I wanted to. You know this, so what is it you expect me to do for you and Miss Elizabeth?' James opened his mouth to protest, but before he could say anything the goddess gave a soft laugh. 'Haven't you realized, it is not up to me to do anything, it is up to you.' Taken somewhat aback, James hastily shut his mouth, wondering what on earth Calypso could mean. As if reading his mind, she continued: 'You yourself have already said two things you can do – stay, or pass on.' She rose to leave, and then added: 'There is one more option, one that would require more strength and courage than the others… yes, the one you are thinking of even now as we speak.'

'And would that be payment enough for you?' asked James, steadying his voice – he was not sure he liked how readily the sea goddess read his mind.

She smiled a slightly wild and definitely unnerving smile. 'I think so, if it is the price you are willing to pay for her happiness.' Before he could ask any questions, she continued: 'I will give you three days, and tell you what to do when the time comes. Is that enough?'

James bit his lip, wondering if the choice he was considering was truly the right one. 'I'm sorry if I seem rude for asking, but is this the only reason you let me keep on seeing her, so I would agree to this?'

The goddess shrugged. 'I cannot foresee the future, only the possibilities. True, based on your bravery, and your devotion to Elizabeth, and your sense of honor, I could have predicted this, but then you are a very unpredictable man, James Norrington. Very unpredictable indeed. The choice, therefore, is yours and yours alone. There is no destiny I have already set before you. If this is what you choose, it must be because you yourself are willing to face it.'

James sighed, and as he did so, he felt the small book that Elizabeth had written in, concealed in a hidden pocket of his coat next to his heart. At that moment, he knew that the decision he was about to make was the right choice for all of them. He stretched out a hand for Calypso to take.

'Done.'