It only took Elizabeth a couple of days to realize that planning a wedding was a rather toilsome affair. And as her mother was no longer alive to help her, it was her sole responsibility to get all the preparations done, which was turning out to be quite the ordeal.
Money was not the problem of course. Her father had been so pleased about her engagement to James, that he had basically given her free reign over all the expenses.
No, the problem was that -and this was no secret to anyone who knew her- she had never been particularly invested in the usual interests a lady of her station normally would. And now she was paying the price of ignoring her friends´ incessant chatters about the requirements for having a wedding.
After being overwhelmed by the wide arrange of choices -of just about everything- and agonizing for three long days on what to do, she decided that instead of trying to do it by herself, she should simply ask James for his opinion.
He would be getting married as well, he should help her, she reasoned with smug confidence.
With her decision made, the next morning after having supper, she informed her father of her plans for the day.
"Please remember the Commodore just returned from a long mission away from Port Royal, Elizabeth. He might not be as free as you want him to" her father warned her kindly.
But his words didn´t deter her as she got up from the table and smiled at him, before responding carefreely "He is to be my husband, so he should be capable enough to make time to entertain me"
Her father sighed softly but didn't say anything more, instead wishing her a nice day.
...
The rainy season was finally at it´s end and although the sky was still a little cloudy, it was the first time in weeks that the sun could be seen shining up in the sky. But as she made her way towards the fort, Elizabeth failed to realize any of this.
Instead her mind was occupied thinking about James. She had not seen him in several days -since the day they got truly engaged in fact- and that brought her to the realization that the two of them were quite accustomed to not spending time together. Before the attack of The Pearl, James and her would go weeks on end without talking or even seeing each other.
Now that they decided to get married, she would not allow their relationship to continue in that manner any longer. She wanted them to spend time together and for them to become closer to each other and she was determined to make it happen.
When she entered his office, she found him sitting at his desk looking over a stack of papers with his brow furrowed and a look of complete concentration painted his face.
He's always wearing his hat indoors, she noted with amusement.
His office was still an unfamiliar place to her. Taking advantage of his distraction, she took a moment to study it: It was a very spacious, neat and well lit room. The crystal doors that covered one of the walls opened to a big balcony that allowed an unobstructed view of the port and the open sea.
The brick walls were bare, except for the one that faced his desk, that one was adorned by a big chimney with two plain armchairs in front of it. Besides his huge desk, the only other pieces of furniture were a showcase filled with books, maps and papers and a table next to it.
There was not much else in the way of decoration either: a chandelier hanging from the ceiling, some candelabrum placed around the room for strategic illumination, a big round atlas, a telescope and that was it.
Practical, was the word that came to mind, a little too practical in her opinion.
It was such a strange realization: how she had been in here more times in the last week than in all the time she has been living in Port Royal.
"Good afternoon, Commodore" she called with feigned modesty, wanting to see what his reaction would be.
James' gaze left his papers as he looked up, startled. "Elizabeth" he greeted, standing up from his chair and walking over to her.
Once he was in front of her, she offered him her hand with a playful smile. He stared at it, blinking in confusion for a moment before he smiled in understanding. Taking it gently, James planted a delicate kiss on her knuckles.
"Please come on in" he encouraged as he placed his hand on her back and guided her towards one of the armchairs in front of the chimney, while he took the one next to it. "What brings you here?" he questioned, sounding mildly confused.
Still in a playful mood, one of the corners of her mouth raised as she asked back "Do I need a reason to pay a visit to my fiancé?"
The question made both his eyebrows raised softly before his face settled on delight "Of course you do not, my lady. I was merely surprised by your unexpected visit"
Truthfully, he was not used to Elizabeth seeking out his attention nor his company, so her unannounced presence in his office was as welcomed as it was perplexing.
"But you don´t dislike me coming here, do you?"
"Never" he hurried to reply with a shake of his head "I love being able to see you Elizabeth" he confessed with a small smile, his demeanour still showed nothing but pleasure at her presence.
"Does that mean that I am free to roam around here whenever I please?" she asked with a smirk, batting her eyelashes at him coyly.
James did not even pause to think as he answered with a genuine "You can"
He is so oblivious, she thought fondly.
"Thank you. Though, I must confess there is a reason for my visit today" she revealed, trying to appear more serious.
Catching onto her change of expression, he nodded and encouraged her to continue "Go ahead"
She took a moment to look away from him so he wouldn´t be able to read the mischief in her eyes, and then seriously declared "I am in need of your assistance on a matter of utmost importance"
That´s when his demeanour sobered as his back straightened in attention "What is it?"
Looking back at him she confessed "I´m afraid I cannot seem to decide which flowers should adorn the aisle" while doing her best to containing her laughter.
James' expression looked as dumbstruck as if she had asked him to paint his ship orange "Pardon?"
She finally relented her game and sighing dramatically before explaining with a small laugh "The preparations for our wedding are giving me a real headache, there are too many options for everything and too much to do and I really can't do it by myself anymore. I want your help"
After saying it out loud, she became a little self-conscious. She really hoped she didn´t sound as whiny as she felt she was being. Father was right, James was probably very busy and the wedding preparations were something that men mostly didn´t concern themselves with, she realized belatedly.
His brain seemed to take a moment to fully process her request, but her worries eased when his eyes locked with hers and with an earnest look he told her "I´m afraid I´m not well-informed in those matters Elizabeth, but I would be happy to help you in whatever capacity you think I might be of assistance"
His honest answer was endearing and it made her happy.
"Don't look so worried" she soothed him with a smirk. "I´m only asking for your opinion on what you like. I am tired of thinking on my own."
"I.. will do what I can, but I can tell you whatever you decide would be much better than any suggestions I make" he insisted, while his eyes darted around the room a little.
Following his gaze, her nose scrunched playfully "Yes, I can tell that décor is not one of your fortes"
He just smirked, agreeing "It really is not"
As her eyes went back to him she got distracted by the same thought she had earlier "Do you ever take it off?" she asked out loud, pointing to his head.
With a slight frown of confusion, he brought up one of his hands until he made contact with his tricorn. "Not usually. I do not enjoy wearing the wig, the white hair makes me feel old, so I prefer to have the tricorn on. This feels more comfortable" he explained with a small shrug once he understood what she meant.
Her eyebrows raised, genuinely surprised "The Commodore can be vain too. Who would have guessed?" she asked with wonder, making him laugh.
Her eyes narrowed as she tried to remember how he looked before he started wearing that ridiculous wig, but it had been many years since the last time she saw him without it. And now she was extremely curious, so she extended her hand towards his head impulsively, taking the obstructive hat off his head.
Still staring at him with curiosity she requested cheekily "Take it off" now pointing to his wig.
And she was delighted to see how quick he was to comply with her demand that he dropped all the unnecessary formalities between them, when instead of starting a silly argument on the impropriety of taking his wig off like that, he simply sighed and removed the thing from his head.
Even though she knew it was not his actual hair colour; she couldn´t help but marvel when instead of the usual white she saw shiny dark brown hair on top of his head -long enough to need to be tied at the back with a dark blue ribbon, but still short-
He looked so much younger without it, more handsome too... she liked that.
That's when Elizabeth remembered that, in spite of his rigid bearings and severe disposition, James Norrington was only about six years older than her.
As if hypnotized, she let the hat she had been holding onto drop to the floor so she could bring her hand up to his head for a second time. But this time, her fingers reached for a lock of hair hanging near his eyes, twirling it around her finger; fascinated by the colour and the softness of it.
Looking up at him, she nodded with a smile "You´re right, you look much better without the wig." She finally let go of the lock she had been playing with, but only so she could bury her hand in his hair, petting him softly.
As she entertained herself with his hair, she failed to notice the dwindling distance between them until his face was right in front of hers. So when it suddenly vanished entirely, she belatedly realized his lips were on hers. And this time, he was the one who initiated it.
His lips began to move against her mouth, making her eyes flutter close and her hold on his hair tighten, bringing him closer and deepening the kiss.
She was truly starting to understand why all the other ladies had always made such a big fuss over kissing.
Before -when her father had first started hinting at a marriage between them- she had imagined that kissing him would be an awful experience: cold, boring and proper, just like him. But she had been as wrong about how it would feel like to kiss him, as she had been about him. His mouth was warm, soft and inviting and the way his lips moved sensually against hers was anything but proper.
She couldn't help herself as she let a sigh of satisfaction escape her mouth when his hand caressed the side of her jaw.
There was no telling how much time passed before they finally parted from each other, but her mouth was tingling pleasantly and when she looked at him she noticed his lips were a little red and glossy. Thinking that was a result of their kissing made her feel inexplicably shy.
He was looking at her affectionately but had yet to say anything, making her even more nervous.
In a bit of a haste, she stood up and proclaimed hurriedly "Right then, it's best I take my leave now. I still have many preparations to get done" all the while she avoided looking directly into his eyes.
But before she was able to flee, he caught her by the wrist gently.
"Elizabeth"
"Yes?" she croaked.
As she turned back to look at him, his other hand reached for her chin and tilted her head up lightly while his lowered slowly towards her, leaving a kiss on her cheek that sent a shuddering tingle down her spine.
When he finally let go of her, he smiled at her with crinkled eyes "Please come back soon"
She could only nod dumbly in response.
As she was leaving the Fort, she realized she had not gotten an answer about the flowers or anything else, and she would have to figure it all out by herself for the day.
...
She had decided to take James at his word, and two days after her visit, she had been back in his office and the day after that as well. In fact, she had been visiting him so often lately that her father had stopped asking her where she was going or sending maids after her to 'escort' her.
Elizabeth spent hours there with him now, sometimes all day and she found it quite enjoyable. His office had become a sort of a hideout for her where nobody would come looking for her to nag when she was with him, and James let her do whatever she wanted.
But he still had obligations to attend as the officer in charge, he really was busy a lot of the time. Reading reports, writing reports and all sort of miscellaneous tasks around the fort... She had always known he was thorough, but she just had never known how much. Whenever he wasn´t dedicating time to her, he always seemed to be doing something.
Frankly, it looked tiring.
Thus, she had gotten into the habit of resting in one of the armchairs with a cup of tea and some biscuits as she continued with the arrangements for the ceremony. They had somehow come to an unspoken agreement with respect to his help with the wedding, where she would narrow down the options and then ask for his preference. Nevertheless she was pleased by his interest and effort, especially when his face would scrunch in concentration as he tried to choose carefully.
Unless they were having a conversation, they mostly worked in silence. But instead of irritating or boring, she found it relaxing. Particularly, when there was not much activity going on at port and the only sound entering the room through the open windows would be that of the ocean waves approaching shore. It was peaceful.
Although that definitely wasn´t the best way they used their time alone whenever they were together, she mused with self-satisfaction.
And being the man in charge definitely had its perks, she admitted as she enjoyed the fresh ocean breeze hitting her face. His office had a great view of the bay but she felt dissatisfied that she could not sit down to enjoy it properly, as the balcony was devoid of the appropriate furniture. In fact there was no furniture outside, if only she could…
When the idea hit her suddenly, she turned on her heels and went back inside the office. "Can I bring lounge chairs for the balcony?" she asked excitedly, looking at James.
Who had spent the best part of the last hour, immersed in tracing a course using a big map of the Caribbean spread on his large mahogany desk. A couple of days ago, he had informed her that The Dauntless was due for patrol and he would be gone for about a week.
"Huh?" was his brilliant response, finally lifting his gaze from the ledgers he had been staring at for the past ten minutes.
Determined to make her idea come to fruition, she walked around his desk to reach his side, then waited until he turned his chair so they were facing each other.
She wanted his undivided attention, so using both her arms she leaned on the sidearms of his chair and caged him in place "I asked if I could bring some lounge chairs. I want to sit on the balcony so I can look at the sea" she explained, quite happy with her idea.
He smiled at her excitement, but she noted the way his eyes were fighting to stay on her face, fleeting down momentarily every so often.
Maybe this wasn´t the best way to maintain his attention, she realized with amusement, but then she decided she could use it anyway, leaning in even closer. Her face lowered until it was only inches away from his.
"Can I then?" she repeated seductively, making him gulp slightly.
"Of course you can" he consented.
Her gaze gave a swift sweep to the entire room. It was such a stark and austere space that it was obvious he did nothing but work in here, no time for relaxation or enjoyment. I will make sure to change that.
"Actually I had an even better idea just now" she added in a matter of fact tone.
"Your office is too spartan, James" she complained childishly "You desperately need to add at least some furniture to it, and a bit of décor would not hurt. You would be able to work more efficiently in a cozier environment. And I´ll do it for you!" she finished with a winning smile.
James was well aware that when Elizabeth got an idea in her head, she was a force to be reckoned with, and her excitement was almost palpable in the air, so he was more than happy to indulge her wish; but just as he was about to speak, there was a quick knock at the door before creaking open.
Elizabeth had yet to move from her position, still leaning close to his face with her arms trapping him to the chair. And when Lieutenant Gillette walked in, that's exactly the position he found them.
The Lieutenant turned around at once, while she quickly straightened her back, feeling her face flush with embarrassment but fighting to pretend it wasn´t.
When she looked down at him, James was pressing his lips together, trying to fight a smile. Although it only took him a second longer before his face was back to that severe expression he always carried around his men. Asking in his best Commodore´s voice "What is it, Lieutenant?"
Gillette looked back at them cautiously before turning around completely and standing at attention before reporting "Sir! the documentation of the newly arrived cargo is ready to be reviewed by you so it can be unloaded on port."
"Very well, I´ll be there shortly" James dismissed the Lieutenant -who wasted no time scurrying out of the office- as he got up from his chair. Then he turned back to Elizabeth, who was still red in the face and fanning herself discretely.
As he reached out for her waist with one hand, he told her "You can decorate this place however you see fit. Just please make sure not to go too overboard, people other than you and me still come inside this place Elizabeth" while looking pointedly at the exit the Lieutenant had fled thru.
She relaxed at his joke, her previous excited mood returning with a vengeance.
"Nothing pink then" she pouted in feigned disappointment.
But he was serious when he pleaded with his eyes "Nothing pink, please"
"What about coral?" she offered.
He shook his head softly, letting out an exhale as -instead of answering her rib- he bid her goodbye "I have to go now"
Kissing her goodbye on the cheek had become a habit of his. And though sweet, she realized rather fast that her preference was elsewhere. So when he leaned down towards her face and his lips were almost to her skin, her head turned to capture his lips gently.
Whilst she had planned to give him a brief send off, James seemed to had different plans as he tightened his hold on her hip bringing her closer and deepened the kiss for a little longer.
"See you" he said after he finally let go of her, but only after he was certain he had made it difficult for her to catch her breath.
Something new she had learned about him, was that he could be pretty vindictive when he wanted to. And of course it would turn out that, that was something she found rather attractive instead of off-putting.
"See you later, James"
…
Elizabeth spent the next two days immersed in the planning of the redecoration -really, it was the decoration- of his office.
James was away with The Dauntless for the next couple of days, giving her enough time to redecorate his office completely without him seeing any of it. It was the perfect surprise, she mused with a self-satisfied smirk as she proudly stared at her handiwork. Her execution had been flawless.
Her first priority had been the balcony: with the simple addition of some comfortable lounge chairs, a couple of cushions and a small tea table, it now was a comfortable resting area.
Then she adorned the walls with a couple of tasteful paintings -nothing too extravagant, as she knew he wouldn´t like it,- and hung light curtains in order to soften the harsh sunlight that usually poured through the windows.
His ugly armchairs were replaced with elegant, deep burgundy, twin long sofas that faced each other, adorned with probably too many cushions. Separating them was a simple Mahony center table that she topped with all sorts of ornaments.
She even had to bring in a rug -a beautiful sapphire, soft piece- to put underneath the center table, still having a hard time believing he hadn´t had one to begin with.
She was quite proud of herself, his office now looked like a place fit for someone of his station, a welcoming space. Which, in her opinion, was a big difference from before.
The day James finally returned, she had been so excited about showing him her work, that she rushed to the port as soon as she had spotted The Dauntless entering the bay from the window of her bedroom.
And once she found the crew bustling about on the docks, she walked around trying to find him. As she was starting to worry that she might have missed him and he was already back in the fort, she heard his voice behind her "Elizabeth"
Making her spin around with a huge smile spreading across her face as she saw James walking towards her with a smile of his own. When he reached her side, she grabbed onto his shoulders for balance and rose on her tips to kiss his cheek "Welcome back"
"Hello" he answered as his face tinted slightly red. How adorable.
"I have a surprise for you" she exclaimed as she took his hand and started dragging him towards her carriage with no further explanation.
…
"What do you think?" she asked excitedly once she opened the door, pushing him inside and finally showing him the product of her hard labour.
James stood in the entrance to his office, taking in the sight before him. "It looks amazing, Elizabeth" he praised her, truly impressed by the work she had done. "Thank you" he offered sincerely, looking back at her.
Which appeared to please her immensely.
"I'm glad you like it," she said, walking over to him. "I must admit, the place was so bare it was almost too easy, but I think you will enjoy it"
Although he had never before cared about or paid attention to what he had considered was a trivial matter, thanks to Elizabeth, the once bland office now had a warm and inviting atmosphere.
Most important of all, he was grateful for her efforts. It wasn't the new furniture and decorations that he appreciated, but the fact that she had taken the time and care to make his workspace as comfortable for him as possible.
"So? What´s my reward?" she asked, pulling on his sleeve with a playful smile.
"What would you like?"
"You could start with a kiss of gratitude," she suggested scrunching her nose.
He was about to speak and argue that wasn't a proper reward, but Elizabeth wasn't done yet. "And I think a trip on The Dauntless would be a suitable reward" she added, with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.
James chuckled, some of the things he had always admired about her was her frankness about what she wanted, and her determination to get it. "I think I can manage that" he conceded with a nod.
"Which one?"
"Both" he answered with a low, husky tone as his breath hit her lips. Making her lids fall in anticipation, right before his lips closed the distance between them with a sweet kiss.
She relished in the way he was able to convey what he was feeling whenever he kissed her... It made her curious about what he felt from her, always driving her to try just a little bit harder. She wanted him to enjoy it as well.
Pulling away with a grin, "Now, about that trip on The Dauntless" she added, already feeling too excited about the promised reward.
James raised an eyebrow and smirked "You're quite the demanding fiancée, aren't you?"
Elizabeth leaned into his face once more "You better be prepared then" she whispered, holding onto his neck, closing her eyes and stealing another kiss.