PotC-Fic - Growing shapes (3) The parapet
Title: Growing shapes (1-4)
Author: blackpoetcat
Pairing: Norribeth / Willabeth
Characters: James Norrington, Elizabeth Swann, Will Turner
Rating: none
Disclaimer: It's all Disney's, no profit intended, just my little world of fantasy...
Summary: Takes place after CotBP, ignoring DMC + AWE;
What if relationships go another way than expected?
My personal thanks goes to dear underworldvixen for betaing :-).
Growing shapes
Part 3 - The parapet
When I saw her two weeks prior to the wedding, she was standing at the very same place I proposed to her. She seemed so lost in thought, so fragile, I hesitated to approach. But before I could withdraw, she sensed my presence and turned to me. Her eyes were shimmering wet. She wept; again.
Nevertheless, her tentative smile was an invitation, so I went to her side and offered my arm. She took it, lent into me, revealing her desperate need of support. Neither of us spoke for minutes, we just observed the horizon without noticing anything but the infinity of a calm sea and a clear sky.
Finally, it was her who started to speak.
“What is it you see there, James?”
Astonished, because she never asked me such personal thing before, I turned to her.
“Do you really want to know?”
“Yes. Tell me. Please.”
My gaze went back to the blue and green line where the sky seemed to touch the water. Never since I joined the Navy, never in my whole life, I told anyone about my deepest feelings for the sea…
Well, maybe today was the right time to start.
I cleared my throat and felt a wistful smile growing on my lips.
“I’m a passionate sailor, Elizabeth. The horizon is my little piece of freedom; the only one I can achieve during my life of service and responsibility as a loyal officer of His Majesty’s Navy.”
Her gasp nearly startled me; I turned and caught her eyes. They were wide and gave away a great amount of surprise.
“You’re longing for freedom? You, of all people?”
I cocked an eyebrow. Perhaps it was still a mistake to share this deepest of all my dreams with her?!
“Why do you ask, Elizabeth? Is it so unbelievable?”
It wasn’t as easy as usual to hide my pain and show her the calm façade of former times. My heart didn’t heal since the rejection, far from it! Every hour, every minute I was near Elizabeth, it cried for her in agony. But I would rather die than adding this weight to her sadness…
“No, no… That’s not what I… Why….” she stammered, blushing. “It’s just… I never thought that…”
She stopped and bit her lip. It was obvious that she was more than nervous, that she hesitated to tell me why she was so surprised that even a stiff commodore like me could dream of some freedom. Or… Did I misjudge her intentions?
My eyebrows climbed up when I recognized the hint of suppressed laughter in her eyes, her trembling lips and shoulders. Now it was me who gasped in astonishment and growing annoyance. For the first time since the rejection, I felt angry with her. How the hell could she...?!
“Elizabeth, there’s nothing funny in…”
“Oh please, stop it, James! It’s not you or your dream I’m laughing about” she giggled and petted my arm. “Sorry…”
She wiped her eyes to remove some tears of laughter and drew a deep breath to calm down. When she finally looked at me, I saw her eyes sparkling the familiar way I missed for months. I couldn’t help but relax and feel a deep satisfaction that it was me who made her feel happy and smiled involuntary.
She returned the smile and her fingers touched my cheek, tenderly, just for a second. It felt like the smooth hint of a butterfly’s wing. My gaze couldn’t leave her eyes; I still sensed the soft pressure against my skin when she continued.
“James, what I was laughing about is… Well, the two most precious and inimitable men I know are also the two most different. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that you and Jack would share the same dream with me, the same perspective of the horizon…”
I stared at her, dumbfounded. Jack? Did she really just say that Sparrow and I had something in common?! That we are - equal? That was, in sharing the very same thought of freedom…
Impossible! How could she dare to compare me with that…? That scallywag?! I opened my mouth to protest but shut it promptly when I saw her twitching lips forming a single word. Pirate…
I knew I should have been shocked. But I couldn’t help and felt a smirk growing, slowly, until I started to chuckle. Only seconds later, we both laughed out loud. We laughed so hard we nearly cried, clutching to each other, unable to stop until…
“Norrington! Release her at once; or I swear I’ll kill you!”
In an instant, we sobered completely. There was no way to ignore the dangerous tone of Turner’s voice. He was in a lather of anger, quite worse than during our last encounters, his hand clutching to the hilt of his sword. Although I fixed his narrowed eyes I caught Elizabeth’s expression from the corner of my eye. She trembled in fear…
My heart squinted and my decision, the one I never wanted to make because of her right to choose her path alone, was clear. I never would allow this man to control her life; never as long as I live!
I stepped forward Turner, shoving her behind me and straightened.
“No. The very moment I will release Elizabeth is the moment she asks me to do. No one else has the right to decide whether she spends her time with me or not. No one, Turner! Not you, not the Governor - only Elizabeth herself! Calm down and finally start to understand that she is a self-contained person who has rights that need to be respected. If you feel unable to do so I suggest you leave her alone. Do I make myself clear?”
Turner snorted with disgust. He bared his teeth, raised his chin and addressed Elizabeth but didn’t break eye contact with me.
“Come here, Elizabeth. Your place is beside me, you have nothing in common with this arrogant Navy bastard. Leave him be, once and for all!”
I didn’t move or speak, only clenched my jaw. If he would dare to force her I won’t be able to restrain myself from teaching this unconvincible fool his well-earned lesson…
Her fingers nearly dug into my shoulder and I sensed that she desperately shook her head.
“No, Will. I don’t want to come with you. Go. And stop to insult and threaten James, it isn’t his fault you’ve lost me. It’s no one’s than your own!”
My surprise was mirrored in Turner’s face; he gasped in cold rage, but my heart jumped in joy. She didn’t want him anymore; freed herself from the cage he tried to build around her. Finally, her spirit had won the battle against her fear of another scandal, had showed her what kind of character she really was.
A pirate; a pirate and a fine woman…
tbc…
Author: blackpoetcat
Pairing: Norribeth / Willabeth
Characters: James Norrington, Elizabeth Swann, Will Turner
Rating: none
Disclaimer: It's all Disney's, no profit intended, just my little world of fantasy...
Summary: Takes place after CotBP, ignoring DMC + AWE;
What if relationships go another way than expected?
My personal thanks goes to dear underworldvixen for betaing :-).
Growing shapes
Part 3 - The parapet
When I saw her two weeks prior to the wedding, she was standing at the very same place I proposed to her. She seemed so lost in thought, so fragile, I hesitated to approach. But before I could withdraw, she sensed my presence and turned to me. Her eyes were shimmering wet. She wept; again.
Nevertheless, her tentative smile was an invitation, so I went to her side and offered my arm. She took it, lent into me, revealing her desperate need of support. Neither of us spoke for minutes, we just observed the horizon without noticing anything but the infinity of a calm sea and a clear sky.
Finally, it was her who started to speak.
“What is it you see there, James?”
Astonished, because she never asked me such personal thing before, I turned to her.
“Do you really want to know?”
“Yes. Tell me. Please.”
My gaze went back to the blue and green line where the sky seemed to touch the water. Never since I joined the Navy, never in my whole life, I told anyone about my deepest feelings for the sea…
Well, maybe today was the right time to start.
I cleared my throat and felt a wistful smile growing on my lips.
“I’m a passionate sailor, Elizabeth. The horizon is my little piece of freedom; the only one I can achieve during my life of service and responsibility as a loyal officer of His Majesty’s Navy.”
Her gasp nearly startled me; I turned and caught her eyes. They were wide and gave away a great amount of surprise.
“You’re longing for freedom? You, of all people?”
I cocked an eyebrow. Perhaps it was still a mistake to share this deepest of all my dreams with her?!
“Why do you ask, Elizabeth? Is it so unbelievable?”
It wasn’t as easy as usual to hide my pain and show her the calm façade of former times. My heart didn’t heal since the rejection, far from it! Every hour, every minute I was near Elizabeth, it cried for her in agony. But I would rather die than adding this weight to her sadness…
“No, no… That’s not what I… Why….” she stammered, blushing. “It’s just… I never thought that…”
She stopped and bit her lip. It was obvious that she was more than nervous, that she hesitated to tell me why she was so surprised that even a stiff commodore like me could dream of some freedom. Or… Did I misjudge her intentions?
My eyebrows climbed up when I recognized the hint of suppressed laughter in her eyes, her trembling lips and shoulders. Now it was me who gasped in astonishment and growing annoyance. For the first time since the rejection, I felt angry with her. How the hell could she...?!
“Elizabeth, there’s nothing funny in…”
“Oh please, stop it, James! It’s not you or your dream I’m laughing about” she giggled and petted my arm. “Sorry…”
She wiped her eyes to remove some tears of laughter and drew a deep breath to calm down. When she finally looked at me, I saw her eyes sparkling the familiar way I missed for months. I couldn’t help but relax and feel a deep satisfaction that it was me who made her feel happy and smiled involuntary.
She returned the smile and her fingers touched my cheek, tenderly, just for a second. It felt like the smooth hint of a butterfly’s wing. My gaze couldn’t leave her eyes; I still sensed the soft pressure against my skin when she continued.
“James, what I was laughing about is… Well, the two most precious and inimitable men I know are also the two most different. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that you and Jack would share the same dream with me, the same perspective of the horizon…”
I stared at her, dumbfounded. Jack? Did she really just say that Sparrow and I had something in common?! That we are - equal? That was, in sharing the very same thought of freedom…
Impossible! How could she dare to compare me with that…? That scallywag?! I opened my mouth to protest but shut it promptly when I saw her twitching lips forming a single word. Pirate…
I knew I should have been shocked. But I couldn’t help and felt a smirk growing, slowly, until I started to chuckle. Only seconds later, we both laughed out loud. We laughed so hard we nearly cried, clutching to each other, unable to stop until…
“Norrington! Release her at once; or I swear I’ll kill you!”
In an instant, we sobered completely. There was no way to ignore the dangerous tone of Turner’s voice. He was in a lather of anger, quite worse than during our last encounters, his hand clutching to the hilt of his sword. Although I fixed his narrowed eyes I caught Elizabeth’s expression from the corner of my eye. She trembled in fear…
My heart squinted and my decision, the one I never wanted to make because of her right to choose her path alone, was clear. I never would allow this man to control her life; never as long as I live!
I stepped forward Turner, shoving her behind me and straightened.
“No. The very moment I will release Elizabeth is the moment she asks me to do. No one else has the right to decide whether she spends her time with me or not. No one, Turner! Not you, not the Governor - only Elizabeth herself! Calm down and finally start to understand that she is a self-contained person who has rights that need to be respected. If you feel unable to do so I suggest you leave her alone. Do I make myself clear?”
Turner snorted with disgust. He bared his teeth, raised his chin and addressed Elizabeth but didn’t break eye contact with me.
“Come here, Elizabeth. Your place is beside me, you have nothing in common with this arrogant Navy bastard. Leave him be, once and for all!”
I didn’t move or speak, only clenched my jaw. If he would dare to force her I won’t be able to restrain myself from teaching this unconvincible fool his well-earned lesson…
Her fingers nearly dug into my shoulder and I sensed that she desperately shook her head.
“No, Will. I don’t want to come with you. Go. And stop to insult and threaten James, it isn’t his fault you’ve lost me. It’s no one’s than your own!”
My surprise was mirrored in Turner’s face; he gasped in cold rage, but my heart jumped in joy. She didn’t want him anymore; freed herself from the cage he tried to build around her. Finally, her spirit had won the battle against her fear of another scandal, had showed her what kind of character she really was.
A pirate; a pirate and a fine woman…
tbc…