The Choices There To Be Made
Fanfiction: Pirates Of The Caribbean: AWE/ AU
Pairing: Elizabeth/Norrington
Rating: T
Disclaimer: I do not own the Pirates of the Caribbean characters, movies nor any nouns or proper nouns associated with such. I am only a fanfiction writer. Please feel free to leave me any feedback and thanks for reading!
Chapter One
The World We Came From
"The Captain shall have my quarters." Elizabeth looked like she was going to argue so Norrington shot her a pleading expression. She could not be difficult on this. Jones was watching them with passing curiosity and Norrington wondered how much he knew.
Elizabeth drew herself up and opened her mouth, preparing for some cold remark, but then her face softened and she nodded stiffly.
The crewmen were swiftly packed off to the brig, but Norrington had eyes for no one but Elizabeth. She held her head high and walked with great dignity beside him across the bloody deck, allowing no one's scrutiny, permitting no one's scorn. Her time as a pirate had certainly taught her a few things, but had done nothing to diminish the porcelain of her skin or the graceful lift of her eyes.
Norrington dismissed such traitorous thoughts and held the door open for her. Elizabeth stalked through lithely and sat in the only chair, an uncomfortable wooden one due for kindling that had left deep gouges in the floor where its' occupant had skidded across the boards. Norrington closed and locked the door and turned to face her.
"I'd rather it remain unlocked," Elizabeth declared grandly. Norrington gazed at her, hurt, but unsurprised and reached for the lock.
Elizabeth blushed, seeming ashamed, and shook her head, her queenly demeanor slipping. "No, never mind, perhaps it's best..."
Norrington shrugged helplessly and sat on the bed facing her. "Whatever is best for you, Elizabeth."
Elizabeth smiled wanly. "That's not very likely, is it?"
Norrington smiled back. "No, not really." The smile faded. "I didn't expect...", he waved a hand at her strange attire, "this. And I swear to you, I did not know about your father."
Elizabeth nodded, twining some odd necklace through her fingers, seeming suddenly vulnerable. Norrington struggled to suppress his emotions before they appeared on his face. Elizabeth had made her choice quite clear. Perhaps he didn't do quite as good a job as he hoped, because when Elizabeth met his eyes, hers were wistful.
"To be honest, I didn't expect this either."
"Then what-?"
"Sao Feng. He's made me Captain and one of the nine Pirate Lords."
"Why?" He realized that sounded rude and hastily amended, "Not that you, I mean-"
Elizabeth bit her lip, fiddling with the necklace in her fingers. "Sao Feng is dead. He appointed me as his successor."
"But why were you aboard The Empress and not the Pearl?" He realized he was leaning forward unconsciously and corrected his posture.
"More double crossings. I was traded to Sao Feng for The Black Pearl."
Norrington's eyebrows nearly rose off his face in concern. Elizabeth shook her head.
"He thinks me the sea-goddess Calypso in human form, thus the attire."
Norrington was not assured. "Are you alright?" He bent forward and took her hand, delighting in the soft warmth of her palm and disciplining himself not to.
"I'm fine, thank you, James."
Norrington ignored the shiver that went through him when she said his name and frowned. "Calypso in human form?"
"The first Brethren Court bound her so they could control the seas. Barbossa intends to free her. Sao Feng mistakenly believes I am she."
Norrington attempted to understand this, before deciding it didn't really matter. He cleared his throat.
"I'm sorry, Elizabeth." He looked away at the far wall. "I don't expect forgiveness, but I-I am sorry. None of this mess was ever my idea. I can't be a pirate like you." He glanced back to see Elizabeth watching his wry smile with concern.
"My station is all I've ever had. If-if things had been different, I might have had...more, but the Navy is all I've ever known. I didn't make a very good pirate."
Elizabeth frowned, a small line creasing her forehead. "You could have been a fine pirate, James, but what would we do if all our honorable men turned pirate?"
"And our women too?"
Elizabeth smiled at that.
"Though you look very beautiful and very dangerous. Pirate captaincy suits you." Norrington tried to keep impartiality in his voice.
"Thank you," Elizabeth murmured, leaning back in her chair, her hand sliding from his.
It was very hot. Norrington wiped sweat off of his face and sighed. "Do you care if I off this murderous coat?"
Elizabeth laughed. "I've seen you drunk in the mud, James, I don't really think it's an issue."
Norrington shook his head, and standing, unbuttoned his coat, hung it on the wall, and sat back down in his white button-up shirt. "That's not something I'm proud of."
"Be glad Jones didn't take an interest in you." He said to change the subject.
"Yes, that surprised me. I am the Captain after all. Was that due to your orders?"
Norrington studied the wall behind her head. "I assume so. I am the Captain of the ship and an Admiral, after all. Perhaps it is only because he knows who you are."
"What has that to do with it?"
Norrington looked uncomfortable. "You and...Turner. If the legends are more than so much nonsense, Jones understands that more than most."
Elizabeth seemed surprised and at first Norrington attributed that to what he'd said. But when she scooted closer and held his hand, her eyes sympathetic and sad, he realized that Elizabeth was seeing how much he still cared for her.
Loneliness swept through her eyes and fear.
"I haven't a clue what I'm doing," she admitted in a whisper, defeated. "I'm not ready to be a Captain, I'm not ready for any of this. Will...won't talk to me, and...oh, I don't know, I just wish none of this were happening."
All the things Norrington had been working to discard came rushing back, and he clutched her hand. "It'll be alright," he assured, though he hardly believed it himself. "I'll get you out of this, I promise, you'll not be Beckett's prisoner. And then you'll make it work, I know you. Pirates have an amazing resilience to such things."
"You never stopped loving me," Elizabeth whispered, "Did you, James? While I've been off chasing pirates across the Caribbean and scorning you again and again, you never gave up, really, did you?"
"Giving up and ceasing to love you are not the same thing. You belong to Will Turner."
Elizabeth said nothing, merely continuing to stare at him with wide eyes.
"You made a choice!" Norrington suddenly spouted, "Stop this! Stop playing with me!" His hands shook in hers and he glared at the floor, embarrassed by his outburst.
"I'm not playing with you, James," Elizabeth murmured, "I'm sorry that it wasn't meant to be."
"It was," Norrington said in a low voice. "In the world we came from, it was. But we're not in that world anymore. We're in a world of monsters and ghosts, Elizabeth, and you're not mine and I can't allow myself to imagine that you are. Please don't make it harder for me." He stood up, determinedly not looking at her. "I'll get a spare hammock for myself. I hope you are not opposed to sharing quarters with me."
Suddenly, Elizabeth was on her feet and her arms were around him. She hugged him fiercely, repeating, "I'm sorry, I do care for you, James, I do, it's just-" Norrington's arms came around her, his hands against the faint jut of her shoulder blades, her head bowed against his chest. There really was no excuse for his actions, but James lifted her head with one hand and kissed her. Her lips were smooth and soft, and, while she didn't exactly respond, her tongue touched against his lightly, her breath brushing against his cheek. Norrington stepped back, eyes wide, his chest heaving. "I'm-I'm sor-sorry, Elizabeth, I-"
Elizabeth's mouth was open, her eyes perfect crystal mirrors. Something vivid flashed across her face and she closed the space between them in a single movement. Norrington's hands moved to her shoulders, swallowing his words loudly in the silence. Elizabeth brought her slender hands to his gasping chest, gazing up at him with unsure eyes.
"You-you-" panted Norrington in incoherent disbelief. Elizabeth locked his lips in a kiss, effectively silencing him. He kissed her back, mouths moving fluidly against each other, one hand coming up to stroke her face. He pulled her closer with the other arm, panting, his brain in chaos. This was wrong, he knew that somewhere in his head, but he couldn't recall why. He loved her and he wanted her and that was all that mattered. Instincts were guiding him, beyond any Admiral control, beyond any reason. He pushed his body closer to hers, disregarding the fuzzy warnings in his head. The last logical thoughts of Admiral Norrington vanished when Elizabeth's fumbling fingers pushed aside the first button on his shirt.
There had only been one time when she had been this close, when Jack had shoved her at him, dripping wet and she had clutched at him compulsively as he grabbed her reflexively. The thought lifted some sound he didn't recognize from his mouth, and he pressed her closer, freeing her hair from its' bonds and letting it cascade over her shoulders.
Her jacket fell to the floor as he stood bare chested in the dull lantern light and there was no going back. The crimson silk of her dress slid against his chest and he slipped his hands under the shirt beneath, hands trembling against her smooth stomach. He held her as she freed herself from her dress, the alarms in his head completely buried by the feel of this woman's body against his, his heart thudding loudly beneath his ribs. He shook mentally and physically as he pulled her shirt over her head, gasping, his boots kicked across the room. This wasn't possible and yet it was. Her lips found his again as soon as they were shy of the shirt, intense, white-hot, desperate, her eyes closed, the long lashes perfect against her pale cheek. Sounds Norrington wasn't aware he could make were coming from his throat, his thumbs pressed against Elizabeth's temples, every inch of his skin alive with electricity, feeling Elizabeth's contours against his.
Norrington's only thought as the last of their clothes fell to the floor was, How the hell am I going to find the bed?