Chapter Text
James Norrington always knew he would willingly die for Elizabeth Swann.
It was a thought that had come into his mind and stayed there as persistent as his most cherished memory, as warm and true as it had been to hold her securely in his arms just hours before on the decks of a ship full of damned pirates and navy men alike. It had been a relief to see her safe, even in the company of pirates, though he knew she likely wouldn’t have been anywhere else.
The night had been as warm as one could be in the middle of a Caribbean summer, but her dismissal had froze his heart to the core. She pushed him away to back toward the pirates she called allies and friends, the ones she believed in and fought for even when he knew deep in his heart that they wouldn’t do the same for her.
Whose side are you really on, Elizabeth? Whose side am I on? Have we chosen the right ones?
“Elizabeth, please… Allow me one moment of your time. Alone,” he said as he approached the cell where she and her crew were secured.
“Anything you need to say to me, you can say in front of my crew, Admiral,” she replied, her voice carrying the same dismissal as her actions did before. She truly did not understand what he was trying to do, what he was willing to do to save her.
The keys in his hand clanged together as he unlocked the cell, allowing her crew to come rushing out beside him, leaving them behind to find a way back to their ship. It seemed the pirates didn’t mind leaving their Captain alone, so it had been Elizabeth who had tried to resist him.
She stood, almost cemented to the spot, as she stared at him. “James, what are you doing?”
Taking her hand, James led her from the cell as her feet finally moved with her. “I’m getting you off this damned ship,” he replied. Damned in more ways than one.
It didn’t take long for them to reach the stern of the ship, the line connecting them to the other from which they would make their escape. Making a motion to the men, they began to make their crossing, each hopping on and scurrying across with the dexterity of rats jumping from a sinking ship and into the sea.
“I don’t understand why you’re doing this,” she said as the last of her crew vanished into the fog, leaving only the two of them behind. “James, what should I know?”
“I made a promise, far too long ago,” he said, voice firm as he willed her to understand. He wouldn’t let another moment go by without her being safe again, even if it was without him. “I know I’ve broken it before, but I’m not going to now. I need to keep you safe and that means getting you as far away from here as possible. I couldn’t protect your father, but I will keep my promise for you. I will keep you safe, no matter the cost.”
She stood and stared at him, just as rebellious and stubborn as ever. He hoped that one day she would understand.
“I love you, Elizabeth… I wish I could come with you,” he whispered to her, pressing soft kisses into her hair that even after so much time still reminded him of sunlight and burnished gold. She truly was his treasure, the woman he would always cherish most.
“You can. Run away with me.”
One last kiss, sweet as the first with the taste of bitterness. After this, he would never see her again.
“Run, Elizabeth. Run away and don’t look back,” he said, nearly pushing her toward the rope connecting the two ships. Her crew was nearly halfway across by this point, perhaps not close enough to see their Captain kissing a doomed Admiral, but he couldn’t find anything in him to care. Their time was up.
As she climbed onto the rope and began her journey to the other side, James knew he had accomplished what he was meant to. To protect Elizabeth and see her happy, even if it wasn’t with him.
“All hands, prisoner escape!”
James turned, spotting the man who made the call out to his crew, signaling his betrayal for all to hear. The man they called Bootstrap, Bill Turner.
Of course the man who would seek to keep James from protecting Elizabeth would be a Turner. James was nothing if not entirely aware of the irony. They would always be his ruin.
“Belay that,” James replied, lifting his pistol and firing a shot into the rope without a moment’s hesitation, sending the remaining crew, as well as Elizabeth, plummeting down into the sea. If she wasn’t proven to be a strong swimmer, James having watched her more times than he could count sneaking out at all hours to swim in the ocean or playing on the beach as he would come home from patrols, a young adventurous girl growing into a woman he loved more than life itself, he would worry for her. But she wasn't. She would make it back to her ship and crew.
James turned to look down at the ocean, seeing the slight reflection of gold bobbing in the water. It was in that single moment of distraction, of knowing she was safe that everything turned to red. “Part of the crew, part of the ship. Part of the crew, part of the ship,” he repeated as he approached James, holding a sword in his shaking hand. It soon was buried in his back, spearing him through like a roast going on the fire, everything within him that would scream to fight back fading away. The voices of the rest of the crew began to build as he was surrounded by pirates slowly being consumed by the sea and the creatures within.
He opened his eyes at the heaviest footsteps, seeing the monstrous figure of Davy Jones himself standing over his slowly dying body.
“James Norrington…do you fear death?”
A stab through the chest, leaving nothing behind. No blood. Nothing that would speak of humanity. Only death.
“I’ll take that as a no.”
His eyes closed for what he knew would be the final time, finding himself strangely at peace as the blood began to pool beneath him.
James Norrington always knew he would die for Elizabeth Swann.
He just wished it wasn’t alone.