Norrington's Darling

Pining Heart

POV: Zuri Sparrow

Even though I should have been sleeping, I was sitting in the mast, a cool night breeze kissing my face. I couldn't have slept even if I wanted to—all I could hear was James proposing, over and over, and the bed would be cold without James at my side.

My heart fluttered joyously, but my soul yearned for my sweet, sweet James. I knew how must newly engaged couples spent every moment together afterward, soaking in each other's lavish attention.

But here I was...alone.

The ship rocked beneath me, pitching in what would soon become a violent storm. Knowing James's story about the hurricane, I wondered how he was faring, praying he was safe. 

How I wished to be with him... As stressful as it would be to work through his anxiety in the storm, I would be comforted knowing that he was by my side. If we were to die, we would die together.

My stomach tightened. If James died, the last I would have seen of him would be a tiny glance over my shoulder. A sour feeling in my throat warned me of the bile working its way up my throat and I swallowed it back down, my throat burning as I did. 

Overhead, the storm grew, the clouds darkening the already black sky. A light rain began to drift down, misting over my face and collecting in my hair. The mist clung to my skin so much that it was almost impossible to feel my tears when the finally began to fall.

I leaned on the banister of the crow's nest. "Oh, James. What am I going to do without you?"

POV: James Norrington

Without Zuri's petite form pressed right up against mine, the night was cold and lonely. Empty.

I found myself up and out of bed, leaning on the side of the ship with my head in my hands. Why had I let her go? If something happened to her and I didn't stop it, I would never forgive myself, regardless of if I was there or not.

It would have been so much smarter to keep her with me...

Her eyes grinned at me in my mind, her joy at my proposal so clearly evident. I wanted her to be standing right in front of me so I could just kiss her and kiss her and kiss her. 

All I wanted was for her to be near.

Lightning flashed overhead and I flinched violently. I shuddered, hearing the crack of the Dauntless, seeing the ship smash against the rocks and sink beneath the waves.

"James!" Anamaria called to me. "Go get some sleep."

"I couldn't sleep if I wanted to," I said miserably. "Not without Zuri."

"I doubt you'd even sleep with her here," Theodore snorted. "You two wouldn't get enough of each other."

I rolled my eyes, even though I knew he was probably right.

Theodore patted me on the back, sympathy clouding his eyes. "Hey," he said softly, "it'll be alright. She'll be back before you know it."

I opened my mouth to agree but a sob slipped from my lips anyway. My shoulders shook. "Theodore, what am I gonna do without her?"

He pressed his lips into a thin line. "It'll be alright," he repeated. "Zuri'll be back soon. You made that promise with Barbossa to bring him to that island, right?"

"I have no way of knowing he'll keep his end of the bargain!"

Theodore snorted. "Zuri will hold a knife to his throat until he brings her there, you know that, right?"

"That sounds like her," I admitted.

"She'd swim to you if she had to!" Anamaria added from the helm.

I gave them a flicker of a smile. "Thanks, guys," I said and managed to drift into my cabin.

I still didn't sleep for the entirety of the night.