24AN: Thank you to all who reviewed! It makes me so happy. hands out chocolate cake to reviewers
Anyway, I am trying to think up a good idea for this chapter…I'm probably going to erase it and start over again. I've got a luffly idea that just needs a bit o' time to roll around in my head.
And YAY! I haven't been sued for not putting up disclaimers! Keeps slipping my mind.
Disclaimer: I do not own Will or Elizabeth. But I do own my ideas, no matter how pitiful they may be.
:: Chapter 5 ::
"Ah, as you know the treasury full up to the top. Perhaps we've even become pirates ourselves…" The tall, lean, and almost mysterious man chuckled softly at his own joke, and leaned close to Norrington. "…we got their ship. They're defenseless with no ship."
Norrington faked a smile, pretending he got the strange, warped joke the new governor, Sir Beeston, had hammered out. Nothing that man said made a bit o' sense. It wasn't funny that the Royal Navy had captured an entire pirate ship – it was honorable. And as the Commodore, Norrington had a duty to protect the citizens of Port Royale, and that started with getting rid of every single pirate. Apparently, punishing the thieves and murderers that resided Port Royal wasn't as important as making every last pirate under the sun dance the hempen jig. Perhaps this was due to the fact that Norrington thought that pirates were the only ones that thieved and murdered. He was obsessed with them; it ruled his life.
But there was something else that ruled his life – getting Elizabeth to marry him. Sure, there were other silly, pompous girls that would be ever so glad to marry him, but his pride did not permit him to do so. He was not about to be refused anything by anybody, especially a woman. Marrying another woman would be admitting defeat to Elizabeth, and more importantly, to that despicable Will. Norrington would rather die.
"So, well…would you like to play cards?" Beeston suggested with an obviously faked, lopsided grin on his face. The more information he could get out of this Commodore man the better…
How in the world was Beeston ever elected to be a governor? He could barely even carry on a decent conversation. Norrington coughed, glancing at the oaken doors of the office. Where in the world was Whetherby? Norrington couldn't stand this much longer – he'd quit his job if he had to spend another twenty minutes in the same century with this strange new governor. For some reason, this man sent chills down his spine. How could he possibly work for him? "Ah, how about some tea? Annabelle…" Norrington got to his feet, not waiting for Beeston's reply. "Annabelle!" He demanded sharply.
"No…I…" Beeston hardly had a chance to open his mouth when a rather flustered maid entered the office. Damn her, and damn this Commodore. This was going to be harder that he was promised. That Norrington was a lot smarter than he appeared, unfortunately.
"Yes, tea…it'll be ready in a few moments sirs." Annabelle curtseyed and turned to leave when Norrington caught her arm.
"No tea. Where is Swann?" He asked softly, "And can you…show him around the house or something?"
"Mr. Swann is upstairs tending to Elizabeth. She's quite ill…and yes sir." The maid straightened her skirt, and faced Beeston, "Come sir, I'll show you the kitchen. 'Tis quite lovely…we got a new stove the other day, sent all the way from England."
Norrington rolled his eyes slightly at the maid, then nodded towards Beeston, "Go with her, I um…have some other business to attend to. Perhaps we can play a hand after supper."
Obviously there was no way out of this. With a slight nod towards Norrington, Beeston followed the maid, paying no heed to her idle chatter. She would be of no use to him – or would she? A sadistic plan played in his head, and a slight smirk played on his lips. Aha. This would be perfect.
The wind continued to howl, desperately crying to be let in. Drips of rain fell from the rough ceiling of the tavern, leaving clean, dark stains on the unmopped floorboards. The storm fought desperately to get into the warm, relatively dry tavern and punish the sinful inhabitants. Drip, drop. The moisture dripped from the soaked beams, falling onto Will's hand that clutched Megan's. The rain continued. Drop, drip, drop, stop, drop…stop…STOP! Suddenly Will let go of Megan's hand as if it was a snake, and he glared at her. His breath came in short spurts and he finally came to realize what he was about to do. Ruin a girl's reputation – this girl was no common whore. How could he ever of thought of such a thing…it was the whiskey. Will cursed quietly, and swore to himself that he'd never drink again.
"What's the matter sir?" Megan looked slightly miffed as she pushed Will the rest of the way into the dim room and shut the door behind her. Sure, she was scared, but she wasn't about to show it. Sure, her brother would be furious with her, but he didn't have to find out. And she was also sure that this man was mad at her…what had she done wrong?
"I'm sorry, miss. I…um," Will tried to collect his thoughts and say something comprehensible, but the world was fuzzy and dancing before his eyes. He reached out and held onto Megan's arm for support, trying to blink the world back to normal.
"Are you alright?" Megan asked, concern flashing in her brown eyes. She smiled slightly at him, hoping that it would make him feel better. Her innocent gaze quickly turned to horror as Will slumped to the ground. He's dead! Fear coursed through her. She would be hunted down for murdering him…her brother would kill her for certain. She should help him onto the bed…no she should go get help…or should she dump water on his head? Megan tried to run in three different directions, but ended up sobbing on her knees beside Will.
A few minutes later, the initial shock had passed, and Megan took her hands away from her face sticky with tears. How could she have been so stupid? Of course he wasn't dead – he probably fainted from alcohol overdose. Of course…she should've known. And with a wince, Megan realized it was her own fault. She'd been the one delivering it to him all night.
It was a strange feeling, dragging a grown man onto the bed. Usually men were such strong, independent, proud creatures that secretly believed they could take care of themselves. Megan was raised by the 'law' that men were always right, and you must obey them. Her father had been in the navy before he'd become a merchant sailor, and being in the navy drummed pride into a man. And when one is proud, they demand respect. Megan had been taught to respect all men, no matter what their upbringing. With a sad sigh, Megan brushed his dark curls out of Will's ashen face, and she stared at him until she fell asleep with her head on his chest.
Norrington was pleasantly surprised when he heard that Beeston had retired for the night, only an hour or so after their strange conversation. The strange air this governor had prodded Norrington in the back of his mind – somewhere before had he met such a man. His thoughts would not guide him to any solution to the strange mystery that this man carried with him, and Norrington soon forgot about him.
His mind was somewhere else, inevitably on Elizabeth again. He couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt for what had happened up on the cliff. Norrington did not think that he'd resort to threatening the lovely Miss Swann, but how else would she ever comply? It was apparent that Elizabeth did not love him. He needed to face that, yet he couldn't. He would fight it until the very end; he was man that could never admit defeat.
The lantern on the mahogany desk flickered, sending shadows throughout the room. Norrington glanced at the hurricane outside, idly wondering how much damage it would cause. His mind could never stay in the same place for very long – it was almost as if he was in some eternal argument with himself. The lantern cast a warm glow on one side of his face, and the other side was a dark greyish blue color reflected from the stormy gloom outside. And that's exactly what he was. Two-faced. Sadistic, yet civilized. A lethal mixture. Most people only knew his civilized side, but to those unlucky few who knew his sadistic, selfish side…nobody would believe them. In that moment, the candle went out, covering up Norrington's entire face in darkness. And for the moment, that was the way he wanted it, so that is the way it was going to stay. Elizabeth was going to be his one way or another, even if he had to kill her 'dear William' himself.
Elizabeth woke late in the night, shivering violently. She stared around her with wide, hazel eyes trying to pierce the darkness. As a flash of lightening illuminated her room, she cringed. "Will…" She cried softly, turning over and burying her head in the pillow. Her head swam with strange hallucinations of Will and another girl, and then Norrington marrying someone else. She felt so alone, so scared, so vulnerable.
Sitting up in bed, she scrunched her knees to her chest. She rocked back in forth to comfort herself as her fever burned its way through her body. Every slight noise seemed like bells clanging in her ears, and she moaned softly. Suddenly she sat straight up, her eyes wide. Through the feverish torment, Elizabeth made out the distinct scraping of a lock being picked. Her lock. She sucked in her breath as the door swung open and a shadow creep into her room…but there was no time to scream. The shadow was upon her.
AN: -glares at ebil chapter-
Catgirlutah: Thank you for being there for me luff…most of my friends hate to see me vent about my life like I usually do. Sometimes I wonder if I do actually have any friends that truly care about me. –sigh- Anyway, I have some ideas for this chapter that need some bouncing. Thanks for the offer! –hands you a lovely autographed Johnny Depp poster- You deserve it.
Laurelindorenae: Thank'ee so much! I guess I underestimate my abilities, although I still say I am a terrible writer. I suppose I need to learn to take a compliment, eh?
Bananatree: Thank'ee mate! You're awesome too, and you update almost everyday. –wishes she could do the same-
Meggumscat: Will /is/ bad…but not as bad as he could've been. Thank goodness he can't hold his alcohol well. –giggles- But anyway, with my ebil new idea…Will shall be bad again. Bad, bad Will. –glares-
Anyway, thank'ee for reviewing. Boy, I say 'anyway' a lot don't I? Keep getting off the subject.
Sunkist3208: Thank'ee for reviewing…even for this strange chappie. And no, I don't think Will can die…well he /could/, but I know at least 10 people would mob me if he died. And don't worry, I'm going to keep the whole part with Elizabeth and the um…shadow. Just add a few things about…well, you'll see!
Galaxia-Dawn: It is twisted isn't it? But everything should turn out alright in the end…maybe. Depends on the mood I'm in when I'm writing it. Thanks for reviewing though!
xo-miss-elizabeth-ox: -dances- I love being the best! Thanks so much for reading my fic. –huggles- And don't worry your pretty head, Will and Elizabeth /should/ end up together in the end. Should as in perhaps. But I have no idea when the end of this story's going to blow around. I'm just getting started.