The moment the promotion ceremony ended, Norrington went to look for Elizabeth.
This was the perfect opportunity.
A public confession, paired with his promotion to commodore.
He had loved her since the first time he saw her-back when she was a little girl, barely ten years old.
Back then, it wasn't that kind of love.
But as Elizabeth grew up, her freckles faded, her face became more beautiful, and her figure became-
Well.
There was no need to comment on that.
His feelings changed with her.
When Norrington finally found Elizabeth, she was talking with a man.
At first glance, the man looked like a noble gentleman.
As he drew closer, Norrington's expression stiffened.
It was Will Turner.
Damn it.
How did this kid suddenly become this handsome?
Even Norrington had to admit it.
He didn't show it on his face.
He walked over quickly, which led to the interruption.
"Hello, Mr. Norrington," Turner greeted politely.
"Hello, Turner," Norrington replied, getting straight to the point.
"I need to speak with Miss Elizabeth. Alone."
"Of course-" Turner almost agreed on instinct.
Then he stopped himself.
"No," he said firmly.
"I also have something to say to Miss Elizabeth."
Norrington narrowed his eyes slightly.
"When did you start calling her Elizabeth?"
"When I was able to earn nearly two thousand gold coins in ten days through honest work," Turner said, voice steady,
"and when I know that number will only keep increasing."
Money was power.
Power brought confidence.
Elizabeth's eyes widened.
She tried to speak.
No air came.
Her already oxygen-starved brain shut down completely.
Her vision went dark.
Her body slackened.
She reached for the wall instinctively-but the low edge offered no support.
She tipped forward.
And fell.
Straight into the sea.
By sheer luck, she missed the rocks below.
Norrington and Turner were too busy arguing to notice.
"So you've become a nouveau riche," Norrington sneered coldly.
"I'm not here to argue," Turner replied, frowning.
"I just want to talk to Miss Elizabeth-"
He looked over.
She wasn't there.
"Elizabeth?"
He scanned left and right.
Nothing.
His heart dropped.
He rushed to where she had been standing and looked down.
Splash.
"Elizabeth!"
Turner panicked and moved to jump.
"Stop!" Norrington shouted, grabbing him.
"It's all rocks down there! It's a miracle she missed them. If you jump, you won't be so lucky. We go around!"
Nearby, Jack had been arguing with two Royal Navy soldiers.
He noticed the disturbance.
Someone had fallen.
"Why aren't you saving her?" Jack asked the two men beside him.
"I-I can't swim!" Soldier A said.
"..."
Soldier B said nothing.
His silence said enough.
"...Now I finally understand why everyone else is at the ceremony," Jack muttered, irritated,
"and you two are guarding the ship."
"You truly are the elite of the Royal Navy."
He removed his sword, pistol, compass, and hat, shoved them into their hands, and jumped into the water.
At the same time, the pirate medallion around Elizabeth's neck touched the sea.
The Aztec gold coin.
A ripple spread outward.
Magic surged from the coin, absorbing ambient energy from the water, growing stronger by the second.
The ripple expanded-through sea, land, and air.
People shivered.
No one knew why.
They only felt that something terrifying was approaching.
Morin, who had just arrived at the harbor and was preparing to intervene, felt it too.
"So much magic..." he thought, looking toward the source.
The wind shifted.
The warm land breeze became a cold sea wind.
Clear skies darkened.
Clouds gathered rapidly.
The ripple alone was altering the weather.
Ordinary people only felt discomfort.
Morin sensed far more.
Magic that could automatically absorb mana, expand endlessly, and affect the environment-
He hadn't mastered anything like it.
And he wanted to.
The ripple spread across the ocean.
Then reached a ship with black sails in the distance.
"Hm..."
Hector Barbossa opened his eyes.
He turned toward the sound.
"Finally," he said softly.
"I've found you."
"We recovered every cursed coin we squandered," he said as he exited his cabin, addressing the crew.
"All but one."
"But now its call spreads across the sea."
"It's telling us where it is."
"Hoo-ah!"
The crew roared.
"Hoist the sails," Barbossa commanded, raising his sword.
"To the last Aztec gold coin."
"Our salvation."
...
"Huff..."
Jack surfaced, dragging Elizabeth with him.
The two Royal Navy elites finally acted.
They pulled Elizabeth onto the dock and laid her down.
"She's not breathing!" one shouted.
"Move," Jack said.
He cut the laces of her corset and tore it open.
Wet fabric loosened.
Air rushed in.
Elizabeth gasped violently.
She woke.
"You can do that?" one of the soldiers asked.
"Clearly," Jack replied disdainfully,
"you've never been to Singapore."
Jack knew corsets.
Intimately.
"Chest that small," he thought.
"You wouldn't notice without one-"
He stopped.
His eyes fixed on the gold coin around her neck.
He lifted it.
Confirmed it.
Then looked at Elizabeth.
"Where did you get this?"
Footsteps rushed in.
Norrington and Turner arrived first.
Norrington drew his sword and pressed it to Jack's throat.
Turner helped Elizabeth up and wrapped his jacket around her.
"Kill him!" Wetherby shouted as he arrived.
He twitched.
Then hesitated.
He didn't speak.
Instead, he let the soldiers aim their weapons.
Wetherby had seen Morin's identification.
He knew the tavern's profit potential.
He knew Morin's ambitions went far beyond a single pub.
He'd also noticed Turner's transformation.
Appearance.
Status.
He was no longer the foolish blacksmith from a month ago.
Three days could change a man.
Now Wetherby was torn.
Norrington had age.
Turner had momentum.
"Father!"
"Stop!"
Two voices overlapped.
One was Elizabeth.
The other-
"Mr. Morin?"
Wetherby turned.
Morin stood there, smiling.
"That would be me," Morin said with a nod.
"Governor Swann."
He pointed at Jack.
"May I ask what my captain did to deserve this?"
"Your captain?" Jack's eyes widened.
"Isn't he?" Morin raised an eyebrow.
"Captain Ethan Hunt."
"...Oh!" Jack reacted instantly.
He brushed aside the weapons and staggered over in his signature sway, clapping a hand on Morin's shoulder.
"I've been looking for you!"
"He tore my daughter's clothes off!" Wetherby snapped.
"To save her life," Morin replied calmly.
"The corset restricted her breathing. She fell while already oxygen-deprived. Once wet, it tightened further."
"Would you rather preserve appearances," Morin finished evenly,
"or let your daughter suffocate?"
"...No," Wetherby said stiffly.
"Exactly," Jack nodded.
"Sir, you've been to Singapore too?"
"Singapore," Morin replied,
"and everywhere else."
Jack stared.
Someone out-bragged him.
Elizabeth glared at her father.
"I told you I couldn't breathe!"
"You said that was fashion!"
She turned to Turner.
Her voice softened.
She smiled.
"I saved her," Jack muttered.
"Yes," Morin said quietly,
"and if you'd like to avoid being slapped again or executed, Captain Jack Sparrow-"
Jack froze.
Morin leaned closer.
"Stay silent. Let me handle this."
Jack stared.
This man knew who he was.
And wasn't reporting him.
Jack sealed his lips with his fingers.
Norrington looked away.
Elizabeth smiling at Turner felt like drowning.
"I was here first," he thought grimly.
He turned back to the matter.
"My apologies, Mr. Ethan Hunt," Norrington said, extending his hand.
Jack hesitated.
Shaking hands wasn't something pirates did.
He fumbled, then accepted.
Norrington tightened his grip.
Reached for Jack's sleeve.
Tap.
Morin's hand stopped him.
"I've never heard of a handshake that includes this," Morin said coldly.
"That's disrespectful, Commodore Norrington."
A trace of killing intent leaked.
Instant.
Heavy.
Norrington broke into cold sweat.
Wars. Death. Blood.
He'd seen it all.
But never this.
Morin withdrew it immediately.
"...My apologies," Norrington said hoarsely.
"No problem," Morin smiled.
"My captain is generous."
"Oh! Of course," Jack said cheerfully.
"I forgive you."
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