The Rise of Libertas
Leila_Data
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Norrington was hesitant to go on deck. He had not slept the entire night, kept awake by the sound of his own heartbeat and thoughts of Elizabeth. She now knew that he was on board—that he was alive. Though it felt as though a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders, Norrington dreaded their next meeting. He would have to explain why he was there, and why he was there with the pirate Robin. He did not want to be there when Elizabeth discovered that he was working for Lord Beckett once again.
Norrington put his head in his hands. Why was he working for Beckett again? Because Beckett had told him destiny had brought the two back, the destiny to end piracy? For some reason, Norrington had assumed that Elizabeth was no longer aboard the Pearland that she was safely back in Port Royal. Without Elizabeth on their side, pirates seemed just as villainous as they had when Norrington had first become a Commodore. Now he could not change sides—his Blood Oath with Robin would force him to remain loyal to Beckett.
Norrington knew he could not put off going on deck any longer. He slowly stood and followed the last of the stragglers up the stairs.
“Good morning, Peter.” Norrington jumped at the voice, turning to see Robin standing on the staircase beside him.
“Good to see that you’re in a jolly mood,” Norrington said a bit more spitefully than he had intended.
Robin did not appear to hear his comment. She vaulted over the railing and landed before him. “I suggest that you stay near me today. I doubt Lizzie will approach you with me around.”
At that moment, Captain Barbossa and Jack Sparrow came from the captain’s cabin. They froze at the sight of Robin and Norrington standing just outside their door. The two went around them and headed up the stairs to the helm, both casting wary glances behind them.
“I need to talk to Barbossa,” Robin said, looking up toward the helm. “I’ll be right back.” Norrington thought about following her up the stairs, but for some reason he remained where he was standing.
“Care to do your share of the work?” A mostly bald pirate shoved a bucket into his hands. “Go on!”
Norrington growled in annoyance as he went to where two other pirates were working, and he kneeled by them and began. The two looked up at him and nodded in greeting. All three hurried to look especially busy as footsteps approached behind them.
“James.” Norrington froze, his heart skipping a beat at the sound of the voice—her voice. “James Norrington.” The two pirates looked at him in surprise.
“Admiral?” one of them breathed in disbelief. Norrington glanced behind him to see Elizabeth standing above him. He could not see her face, for the sun was right behind her, making her a silhouette. Norrington dropped the cloth he was holding and slowly got to his feet. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Robin trying to come over to him, but Barbossa had her firmly by the arm.
“James…” Elizabeth reached up and carefully removed the cloth covering Norrington’s face. He made no effort to stop her. A smile appeared on her face, and she embraced him tightly. “Oh, James!” Norrington wrapped his arms around her and held her close, taking a deep breath as he held her body to his. Elizabeth pulled back a bit. “How?” she asked, her eyes glistening with tears. She turned just as Robin neared. “And why with her?” she added harshly.
“The Admiral and I were trying to get the map from Jack,” Robin said. Norrington was unable to cover his shock at her indiscretion. Elizabeth turned to him.
“Why?” Elizabeth asked him quietly.
“But not anymore.” Everyone looked back to Robin. “After all, we are headed to the place we were going to find with the map anyway, so what would be gained by taking it now?”
She was lying, of course. Yet everyone present seemed to believe her—at least to a point.
Elizabeth turned back to Norrington again. “Why? Why are you here?” Norrington opened his mouth and then closed it again, unable to lie to Elizabeth.
“As I said, we’re here to get the map,” Robin answered.
“Why?” Elizabeth asked Norrington. When Robin opened her mouth to answer, Elizabeth said, “I want to hear it from James.”
Norrington looked at Robin, who motioned to Norrington and herself before making a sort of walking motion with her fingers. “We were sent,” Norrington said. Robin smiled slightly and nodded.
“You were sent to get the map?” Elizabeth said, looking behind her and to Robin suspiciously. Robin raised her eyebrows in feigned innocence.
Robin nodded again as soon as Elizabeth looked back to Norrington. “Yes,” Norrington said. Elizabeth looked back at Robin again, who smiled slightly.
“Who sent you?” Elizabeth asked. Robin had begun miming again when Elizabeth drew her pistol and aimed it at Robin. “Don’t move,” she said threateningly. “If you speak or give him any hint of what to say, I will kill you.” Robin slowly lowered her hands down to her sides, appearing very surprised. She apparently believed that Elizabeth would carry out her threat, for she gave Norrington no indication as to what to say next. “James, who sent you?” Elizabeth repeated.
Norrington bit his lip and looked at Robin. Robin simply arched an eyebrow. Elizabeth glared back at Robin warningly before looking back at Norrington. “James…”
Norrington could not lie to her. He opened his mouth to tell her everything, to tell her he was sorry for all of it, to confess…but then he remembered the Blood Oath. He glanced back up at Robin, who smirked. “I…I can’t tell you, Elizabeth. I’m sorry.” Elizabeth looked shocked, her surprise only matched by Norrington himself. Elizabeth backed away from him. “Elizabeth, I would if I could…”
“James, why can’t you tell me?”
It was as though she knew her use of his name weakened him. “I-I’m sorry. Really.”
“Then I’m afraid you two will need to be dropped off at the nearest island,” Barbossa said. Norrington was surprised—he had quite nearly forgotten that there were others around besides Elizabeth, Robin, and himself.
“And why is that?” Robin asked, turning sharply towards Captain Barbossa.
“We can’t have foreign agents aboard. Nothing personal, miss.” Robin glared at him in anger as he grinned.
Robin looked at Norrington. “Are we working for him anymore?”
Norrington was taken aback. Why was she asking such a question? And then he realized—she was trying to find a way to betray Lord Beckett, yet remain loyal to Norrington. The Oath would not kill for a mere question. And the only way to avoid a deadly betrayal was to agree to one. “It depends…do you want to?”
“Work for him? No, I most certainly don’t.”
Norrington smiled. “Neither do I.”
“Perfect.” Robin turned back to Barbossa. “It seems we have just dissolved our relationship with our former…employer,” Robin said, choosing her words carefully. “Now there is no need to take a detour.” Robin stepped closer to Barbossa, glaring at him. “I would suggest that you never entertain the thought again,” she threatened quietly.
Norrington looked around the deck. The entire crew seemed to have stopped working and gathered around to watch. The only crewmember not nearby was the man at the helm, but the parrot on his shoulder promptly took off and landed in the rigging near Captain Barbossa’s monkey.
“Well, go on you scurvy dogs, back to work!” Robin suddenly shouted, causing the crew to scamper away.
“May I respectfully remind you, miss, that it’s the captain who gives the orders on the ship?” Barbossa said mockingly. Robin merely smiled before turning her back on him.
“I don’t understand.” Elizabeth continued when Norrington did not respond. “How are you here? How…I mean, I saw you die.”
“I don’t know, Elizabeth. I really don’t know.” Surely what Lord Beckett had told him could not be true. Norrington glanced up at Robin.
Robin was apparently no longer partaking in the conversation. In fact, she not seemed to be completely oblivious to it. She was gazing out at the sea, her eyes distant. “Some men have died and some are alive…” Robin sung under her breath. “…and others sail on the sea…”
Norrington shook his head slightly. He did not understand that woman. Elizabeth also appeared rather perplexed by Robin’s behavior, but she quickly recovered. “Oh, James,” she said quietly, wrapping her arms around him and embracing him again.
“With the keys to the cage…” Robin was still singing quietly.
Elizabeth smiled at Norrington before following Barbossa and Jack as they headed back up to the helm.
Norrington turned around to find himself face to face with the two pirates he had been working with earlier. “Glad to see you alive, sir,” one said, and both gave him salutes.
“Do I know you?” Norrington asked after a moment of trying to find their faces in his memory.
“Murtogg and Mullroy, sir,” the other said. “We served with you in Port Royal and aboard the Dauntless.”
“And on board the Flying Dutchman as well, sir,” the first who had spoken added.
“I was about to mention that!”
“Well, you hadn’t yet…”
“I was going to!”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know that, you should have said it sooner…”
“Gentlemen,” Norrington interrupted. “Good to see you again,” he said, looking at their clothing and wondering what their story was. “I suppose we should get back to work.”
“Right, sir,” the one Norrington thought was Mullroy said.
Norrington picked up the forgotten black bandana from the ground. “I’ll just go put this away,” he said to himself. He threw the cloth overboard with a smile, and then began to head to the helm where Elizabeth was speaking to Jack and Barbossa.
As Norrington past by Robin, he heard her quietly sing, “…and turn your sail toward home…”
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