I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean, Disney does. I only own the characters who weren't in the movies; you know, the ones I made up. I also do not own Ambassador Alexander Swann, Isabella Swann, or Count Philip Rochester, who belong to Vilofied.
"What are you getting all dressed up for?"
I couldn't help the small smile that threatened and then took over my lips as I looked at myself in the mirror. I didn't think I looked too dressed up, but apparently my wife did. I finished tying off my cravat and then surveyed myself. My crisp, white shirt was tucked neatly into my sky-blue breeches, my white stockings pulled taught over my calves and ankles, and my black buckle shoes had been shined nicely. After buttoning up my white waistcoat, leaving the top two buttons undone, I reached in the wardrobe for my frock coat that matched the color of my breeches. "I'm going to the fort today."
"Why?" she asked in a very child-like tone.
"I have matters to attend to, such as seeing that my prisoners are taken care of properly. When that is seen to, I can discuss my resignation with Alexander." I snatched my comb from next to the wash basin, and glanced at my wife in the mirror before running it through my cropped hair. "How do you feel today, dearest?"
She nodded slowly, watching my every move. "Better."
"Elaborate." I pressed.
She sighed. "Stronger. I feel stronger today. I think I can make it down the staircase without you having to carry me."
A soft chuckle sounded in my throat. "No, I'll still be doing that."
She sighed again, only a bit heavier. "But, Jamie! What if I want to go down the staircase by myself?"
I put my black-felt tricorn on as I walked to where she was perched on the end of our bed, and nuzzled her jaw. "You can't have everything you want. Children are spoiled that way, you know?" I partially jested.
Ah, that got a snort out of her. "I'll have you know that I am not a child, James Norrington."
I chuckled again, placing a kiss on the corner of her mouth. "I know, pet. I believe you've proven that to me many times since I've gotten back from my voyage."
"I'm not a pet, either." she grumbled, acting as though she was accepting none of my caresses or kisses. "And none of your tactics are going to work." However, a small shiver gave her away when I kissed the side of her neck.
"Mhm." I smirked. "What would you have me call you, then?"
"Mrs. Norrington."
I pulled back a bit, eyeing her expression, and dared to venture to mocking her. "Oh, someone certainly is grumpy this morning. Not enough sleep, Mrs. Norrington?"
Her eyes narrowed. "That's your fault."
I chorttled. "Oh? I seem to recall you enjoying yourself."
She sighed out of frustration, her cool breath caressing my face, drawing me closer to hers...though she acted like she didn't notice. "Maybe. Maybe I just want to be grumpy."
"I can fix that." I murmured as I leaned close, my lips brushing her ear. She shivered. I took that as my cue, and nibbled her earlobe. "I can fix that very quickly."
She was still until I brushed the backs of my fingers against the top of her knee, pressing the cool, silky fabric of her cream-colored nightgown to her skin. She shuddered, placing her hands on my shoulders. "I...don't think I want to be grumpy anymore."
Ah ha! I pressed another kiss on her neck, smiling against her skin as I did so, knowing that I'd won. I began to trail a few kisses lower, when a knock sounded softly on my door.
"Sir?"
It was my turn to sigh. I pulled my face from the curve of my wife's neck to look over in the direction of the door and voice. "Yes, Jane?"
"Sir, there's someone here to see you."
"Well, who is it?" I asked with a trace of annoyance in my tone. My wife chuckled at this.
"I..." There was a pause. "It's Theodore Groves, sir; he says it's important."
I glanced at Chrissy, and then back at the door. "Tell him I'll be down momentarily...I'm still getting ready."
"Yes, sir."
When Jane's footsteps faded away, I fully faced my wife, my expression apologetic. "I'm sorry."
She smiled softly. "You were going to have to leave anyway, you just got...distracted."
Slowly, I smiled too. "It was a good distraction. We'll pick up when I get home, alright?" I reached up to cradle her chin in my palm. "I may be out for quite a bit, though. I have a lot of official business that I can't neglect anymore."
"Let me go with you." she offered hopefully.
I closed my eyes for a few moments. "I'm sorry, darling. This is official business, and you won't be interested in the least. Just stay home, relax, and then we'll do whatever you wish when I get back. And besides that," I murmured, eyeing her state of dress, "You're not properly dressed to be around my men, or in town, for that matter."
"But I can be, if you'll fetch Jane."
I sighed. "Darling-"
"Please?" she begged, her eyes becoming slightly wide and a bit more rounded. "I just got you back." she whispered. "Every time you go to the fort, Jamie, I don't see you all day...and sometimes you keep going back for several days in a row. I don't want to be away from you anymore."
I closed my eyes. She certainly had a way of making me feel awful about myself. Pinching the bridge of my nose, I stood to my full height. "Alright. I'll fetch Jane. However," I added sternly, "Oliver has to come with us. He may have to sit with you in my office for a short bit."
Her eyes brightened, and she used my shoulders as leverage to get to her feet. "Thank you, Jamie!" she smiled.
How could I not smile at her child-like behavior? I put my hands on her hips, and kissed her slowly, tenderly, for a few moments. "Be quick...Theodore is probably wondering what we're doing." I chuckled at the seemingly dazed expression on her face from the kiss, and waved my hand in front of her eyes. "Darling, you need to get ready."
"Alright," she said slowly, "But I need Jane to help me."
"I know, dearest. Pick a dress you want to wear while I fetch her."
With one more lingering kiss to her neck I was out the door, and walking briskly down the hallway, and then the staircase.
Theodore was waiting by the main doors, his hands clsped behind his back as he spoke to Oliver. I came to a stop just before them, and nodded. "Gentlemen." Cluttering from the kitchen told me Jane was helping with last night's dishes. "Jane!"
The cluttering softened, and then stopped completely, before she came around the corner drying her hands on her apron. "You summoned me, sir?"
"Ah, yes, Jane. Mrs. Norrington needs help getting dressed."
She curtsied. "Yes, sir."
"Is mum going?" Oliver asked from beside me.
"She is, and so are you."
He furrowed his brows playfully. "Am I now?"
I nodded with a small smile, and snatched the green bandana from his head. "Yes, and keep this off while we're in town; someone might mistake you for a pirate." I turned to Theodore, then, after stuffy the sweaty piece of cloth in the pocket of my frock coat. "What did you come for, Theodore?"
He clewared his throat, seeming a bit anxious. "A...strange ship has been spotted several leagues out from the island...a very familiar ship to the both of us."
When I began to ask about the ship in question, a small cough from the top of the staircase silence me. I turned in the direction of the small sound to see Jane helping Chrissy down the staircase. My wife was dressed simply in a pale blue cotton dress, the neckline showing a reasonable amount of cleavage, and the bottom hem hiding her ankles for propriaty sake. The dress fit her form nicely, and the color seemed to complement my own clothing. She caught my gaze when she was nearly half-way down, her eyes shining as she smiled. She didn't have to murmur a single word to me, but I knew that she was silently rejoicing that she was at least making it down the staircase with little help.
I smiled at this, and lightly took her hand when she reached the last step. "Are we ready?" I asked the others. I led the way to the carriage when I recieved nods, first helping my wife into the carriage before myself, and then took a seat beside her as Theodore and Oliver climbed in after us.
Port Royal seemed exceptionally quiet. For what reason, I didn't know. The normal chatter and sounds of work from the townsfolk was like a low hum in some parts of the town, or not there at all. The shouts and calls of sailors as they worked down at the docks, a sound that I'd become very familiar with, couldn't be heard. My brows furrowed at the strangeness of this as I looked out the window, trying to find a source, a reason as to why the small town had become so eerily silent. "Is today a holiday?" I asked for any of the other three persons to answer.
Theodore shook his head. "No, sir. It is the middle of June."
I looked back out the window again, taking in everything that seemed unfamiliar. The sky had become unusually dark, looking as though it would pour down a torrent at any given moment. When we got to the fort and I stepped out of the carriage, I realized there wasn't one gust of wind usually associated with a storm...not even a breeze. A soft hand being placed in my own brought my eyes from the sky and to Chrissy, whom I helped down out of the carriage and onto the dark cobblestones of the fort.
The four of us walked in silence to my office door, where I produced a key to get in and took in my surroundings once I was. Everything was just as I'd left it, however, it was a bit dim to the darkness produced by the storm clouds. My wife, slowly, decided to venture about the room once I'd lit a few candles, touching a few objects here and there, but not really disturbing anything. Oliver went to the large map that was on the wall before my desk, while Theodore and I simply lingered in the doorway.
"The matter at hand, James?" Theodore murmured.
"You mentioned a...strange ship, that the both of us are familiar with?" I said in an equally quiet tone, leading him to a corner.
"Aye." he nodded. "You'll have to see it, right away. I didn't think it was going to take me this long to bring you to the fort."
"Is it urgent?"
"It definately needs to be seen to as soon as possible."
I sighed. "Why didn't you tell me this earlier, Theodore?" I turned and looked at my wife and Oliver, who were still exploring my office. "Chrissy, I'll be back as quickly as I can; stay here with Oliver."
"Admiral," Theodore said as we walked briskly to the docks upon realizing there were marines near. It would have been very improper for a lieutenant to call his superior officer by his first name, "We'll have to take a rowboat to get to it...they didn't want to be seen."
My brows furrowed at this, but my stride never slowed. "For goodness sake, Lieutenant, what ship is it?" After a moment of pondering, I quickly added, "It isn't The Black Pearl, is it?"
"No, sir. It is a ship that both of us sailed on before-"
"Your boat, sir," A marine addressed me as we neared the shore, "She's ready, and I've been ordered to take you."
"Good man." I nodded as I climbed in.
The marine began rowing once Theodore was in, and at a fast pace at that. When I looked closer, I realized that marine's hands were shaking. His eyes, brown, were looking in all directions, and he seemed rather pale to have been working in the Caribbean for as long as I thought he had.
"You there," I called quietly, "What's your name?"
The marine looked up at me with a start, as though he'd been deeply lost in thought. "Sorry, sir?"
"Your name, man, what is it?"
"Stanly, sir."
"Mr. Stanly, are you feeling alright? You're looking a bit pale."
"Aye, sir. I'll be fine when I'm back on dry land."
It as about that time that we came around a bend of land that jutted out into the ocean, that I saw it. A large, looming figure docked near a partially hidden shore. The Flying Dutchman.
I swallowed, but hid my emotions for the sake the marine. "Would that be the reason for your worries, Mr. Stanly?"
"Aye, sir."
Not far from the ship was a rowboat, and a short man standing in said boat. As we drew nearer, I found that I recognized the outline of the man, and my body and posture grew tense.
"Admiral Norrington." the man nodded.
I stood as well, and returned the gesture. "Pleasure to see you, Mr. Turner."
Though it had been a while since I'd seen William Turner, I could tell that his pirating days were beginning to take a toll on his body. His face seemed to be the palest of shades of turquoise, just faintly, and weather-beaten as though he'd spent too much time out while it was storming horribly. His gray, long-sleeved shirt, which was open nearly half-way down his front, revealed a horrid scar that seemed to curve in a half-circle on his chest. He appeared to also be scronier than he already had been when he'd lived in Port Royal, and the very, very faint color only seemed to add affect to his new size and seemingly old scars. The man looked like a corps, in my opinion. He was technically dead, after all.
He reached his hand out to shake mine. "I apologize for the location, but I didn't want the town to become panicked at the appearance of my ship, and, well, I'm not allowed to set foot on dry land for another nine years." With a slight smile, he added, "It's Captain Turner, now."
I shook his hand, which seemed clammy and cold , and became surprised at myself at the amount of tenseness that left my body at his friendly gesture. "My apologies, Captain. Excuse my bluntness, but what is your matter of business?"
He straightened up at the question, apparently happy that we'd finally gotten around to the subject; he did look quite uncomfortable, after all. "I'm afraid you have something of mine, Admiral."
My brows furrowed at this. "Have I?"
"Yes, Admiral. A Captain John Davis."
I felt my gaze harden, and a scowl pulled at my lips. "I'm afraid I can't hand a pirate over to a pirate." I bit out. "He's my prisoner to hang."
Turner's slightly cheerful expression faltered to serious one, and he allowed his hands to hang loosly at his sides. "I know it will be troublesome and dangerous to your commission, but-"
"There's more than just my commission that is at stake, Mr. Turner." I growled, thinking of how it could put my wife and child at stake, "I'm afraid I can't hand him over to you."
"If I may, Admiral?" Turner started, a bit of tenseness entering his own tone, "I have a proposition for you. You won't have to simply pass him to me."
"So how do you intend to get him?" I interrupted. He'd only been near me for a few moments, and already he was causing trouble! Trying to, anyway. "What do you need him for in the first place."
"He's much overdue for his appointment in The Locker. He escaped my ship when there was a bit of confusion in getting some of the souls in the brig, because some of them are difficult and refuse to be escorted to The Locker. He was one of those that refused, and when there was a brawl on the deck while trying to get some of those souls to the brig, he escaped. From what I've heard he's also been causing a lot of trouble, and I've come to get him and take him where he belongs."
I narrowed my eyes at him. "So, what is this proposition, if you don't intend for me to hand him over?"
Turner smiled. "Ah. Instead of giving him to me, you could simply allow for him to be 'snatched'"
"Snatched?" I asked, my brows furrowed.
"Aye, Admiral. I could arrange for a few of my men to come later today, preferably at night to snatch him. You'll just happen to be in the jail of the fort when they come to get him, some shots could be fired, and-"
"I don't like where this is going, Mr. Turner." I mumbled, my fingers finding their way to my temples.
"No, wait a moment, Admiral." Theodore smirked. "Some shots could be falsely fired, and while you are wounded, I could set out with a ship and handful of men." he paused and turned to Turner. "You can still make your ship go beneath the waves, yes?"
He nodded.
"Good. I could firea few cannon balls at The Dutchman, then later, when I write a report to the Admiralty, I could tell them the ship went down with Davis."
I looked back and forth between the grinning faces of Turner and Theodore, sighed, and put my hand out again. "Mr. Turner, you have an accord."
Turner nodded with a chuckle, and shook my hand vigorously. "You've nothing to worry about, Amdiral."
"I'm guessing I'll see your men tonight, then?"
Again, he nodded. "Aye. Good evening, Admiral."
With that, Turner turned and disappeared, only to reappear at the port side of his ship, waving. Nearly promptly after, the marine that had been sitting in our rowboat the entire time, fainted.
LOL. I didn't think this chapter was going to be this long. I had intended to stop it at, "Pleasure to see you, Mr. Turner." But, I thought that would've just been mean. Hopefully you enjoyed it, even though I added William Turner(something I thought I'd never do in any of my stories, since he isn't one of my favorite characters. Don't get me wrong, I like Orlando Bloom, but Will, not as much). Thanks to omgxiixluvxhc for suggesting long ago that James bump into Will, which inspired this chapter! ALSO! THANK YOU EVERYONE THAT REVIEWED THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER! I WAS VERY HAPPY TO RECIEVE ALL OF THOSE LOVELY REVIEWS! PLEASE KEEP THAT UP! IT IS VERY MOTIVATIONAL! Please review! Thank you! I'll try to have the next chapter out soon!