Word Count: 200
Pairing: Elizabeth, James Norrington
Prompt: Hesitate
Let Go
As he unlocked the iron gate, a skeptical look transformed her face, and he could already tell that his gesture wasn't going to be enough.
"What are you doing?"
James Norrington stood before her in the brig, torn in two - loving her, needing her, but also distrusting her as if she too were just another enemy brigand of the sea. How could she be for him and against him at the same time? If he asked her to choose a side, he couldn't be certain she would pick his.
Let her go, he told himself throughout the years. Let her find her own way. Let her have the world of expanding horizons she had always dreamed of. Let her find a kindred spirit with whom she could share herself, one unburdened by the weaknesses that beset him.
Fear controlled him and left him useless. Any action he chose could be a source of rejection. So he chose by not choosing, by letting time pass, by believing that conflicts, difficulties, and disorder would sort themselves out on their own in the long run.
And, indeed, they had done so and loss was the result.
Not anymore.
"Choosing a side," he replied, without hesitation.