Norrington's Darling

The Making of an Admiral

POV: James Norrington

I wrapped Zuri in a comforting embrace, lying down behind her on the lounge couch in the room Beckett had provided until I could find lodging elsewhere. Sighing contentedly through her nose, Zuri pushed herself into my chest, snuggling into me, her eyes remaining fixedly closed.

I kissed her cheek. "Would you like to resume our earlier conversation?"

Zuri finally opened her eyes and chewed her bottom lip. "Not yet," she said after a long moment. "I...I just need some time."

"You can have all the time in the world," I promised her, cooing softly in her ear. She tried snuggling back into me more but she wasn't used to the couch, having lived on a ship for the majority of her life, and was having difficulty scooting back. I took her hips gently in my hands and pulled her back—but to my surprise, she shuddered at my touch. I frowned. "Zuri? Are you alright?"

She shook her head, tears springing to her eyes, and wrapped her arms around herself. I noticed immediately she had wrapped herself in a way to protect her chest.

"This isn't just about your brother, is it?" I asked, a foreboding and dark feeling growing in the pit of my stomach.

"No," she whispered.

"What is it?" I asked, sliding out from behind her and crouching in front of her. "What happened? Tell me how to help, sweetheart."

"Beckett," she whispered. Then her eyes locked on the door. I turned.

"Am I interrupting something?" Beckett asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes," I said at the same time Zuri said, "No."

Both of Beckett's eyebrows shot up. "Hiding something, Zuri?"

"That's no concern of yours," I snapped before Zuri could speak. "It shouldn't matter to you Zuri doesn't like our relationship being in the open eye. It would make sense, considering you'd likely have us both killed for it."

Beckett eyed me. "Come here, Admiral."

Giving Zuri's hand a squeeze, I stood and followed the EITC lord out into the hallway. He took me back to his office. I waited in silence as Beckett stared at the fireplace, the small flames flickering and reflecting in his eyes.

Finally, Beckett spoke. "I do not blame you for falling for her. I cannot condemn you for it. And I do not blame her for falling for you. I cannot condemn her for it, either." He tore his gaze from the fire and brought it to me. I was surprised to find true anguish buried in his eyes. "Love is a strange thing. It works in ways we cannot understand. I have been in your place before—a British man of great renown, falling in love with a woman who's pledged herself to a life of running from the law, a life at sea." He looked down. "It wasn't always that way for me. It hasn't been for you, either. You knew Zuri as both pirate and respectable lady, adopted daughter of the governor." He looked back up at me. "I can tell you this: if you love Zuri truly, don't let her go and don't let her piracy get in the way. It only makes things worse." He swept out of the room, leaving me to find my own way back to the rooms Zuri and I were sharing.

"What was that about?" Zuri asked quietly when I got back, still frowning and deep in thought.

"I don't really know," I said honestly. "It's quite confusing."

"What did he say?" she asked, sounding nervous. 

I explained to her what Beckett had told me and how odd it had been. "It seemed to me like he was actually...emotional. He looked so...so...lonely. Lost, even. He sounded like, whoever this woman was, she deeply hurt him. He sounded like he wanted her back, or to change the past." I leaned back against the couch, Zuri's hand on my head, her fingers brushing softly against my hair. "I wonder who she is."