| IMAGINE for @musicmovieslover |

     You rest up against the cell bars of the brig in the Flying Dutchman. You glance at your older sister, Elizabeth, who looks completely lost in thought. "What are we going to do?" You whisper.

     She looks up at you and shakes her head. "I don't know." She answers. She looks around at her crew who're also in the cell with you. The crew stares at Elizabeth expectantly, awaiting orders from their captain. You smile slightly, still not believing that your sister is a pirate captain.

     Elizabeth crosses her arms. "I still can't believe Norrington did that. I can't believe he chose to side with our adversaries." She huffs. Your smile vanishes and you get a stinking feeling in your stomach. "How could you ever have liked him?" She asks.

     "I-I don't know." You reply quietly.

     "Well, I'm glad your feelings for him have vanished because in reality, a relationship between Norrington and you couldn't be possible—especially since he joined the side that murdered our father." She points out. You nod and then lower your head.

      Commodore James Norrington and you were once in love. Everyone, for a while, thought it was rubbish, considering that Elizabeth is the eldest Swann daughter and she should have been the one who was in love with Norrington. But she wasn't. And you were glad. James and you wanted to get married, but before he proposed, he went on a voyage to track down Jack Sparrow. James's ship was destroyed by a hurricane off the coast of Tripoli. Then, coming back to Port Royal in the dark of night, utterly disgraced because he destroyed his ship, he quietly resigned from his position as commodore and disappeared. You were  left heart broken, especially having to watch Elizabeth plan for her nuptials to William Turner. After a tumultuous turn of events, you ended up in Tortuga with Elizabeth. There you found James, drunk, filthy, and in rags. Seeing him again brought back all sorts of pain. You tried to avoid him as much as you could, but that was nearly impossible. He would try to talk to you but you'd ignore him, not wanting to go through the pain all over again. But then seeing James tonight, as he brought Elizabeth, the crew, and you on board the Flying Dutchman, deeply stirred your heart. He looked just as he had before when he was commodore—polished and ridiculously handsome. Your feelings came back in full and it made you want to weep. James and you had locked eyes and it was like he knew—he knew of your feelings. But now you keep thinking about how he joined your enemies and it makes you so angry at him, and also at yourself for allowing yourself to fall in love with him again.

---

     Your eyes are closed and you're nearly sleeping when you feel someone lightly touch your shoulder. You gasp and your eyes fly open. You whirl around. "James." You breathe in surprise. He smiles at you and starts to open his mouth to say something to you.

     "What do you want?" Elizabeth asks, interrupting him.

      "I'm choosing the right side. I'm helping you escape." James admits. All of the crew members wake up and jump to their feet, making noise. "Shh, quiet!" He commands lowly. He unlocks the cell door. "We need to go now."

     Elizabeth narrows his eyes. "Why should we even trust you?" She asks. James glances at you and then back to Elizabeth.

     "He's telling the truth." You claim. Elizabeth looks you and you nod at her. "He's telling the truth." You repeat.

     Elizabeth sighs. "Okay."

    "Your ship, the Empress, is roped with the Flying Dutchman. We can go up on deck and have everyone crawl across the ropes onto the Empress." James explains to Elizabeth. She nods as he opens the cell doors. Quietly, Elizabeth and her crew step out of the cell. You're the last one to leave.

     James looks at you. "Y/N, I-" He starts to say.

     "Norrington, you need to lead us." Elizabeth cuts in.

      James sighs deeply and then turns to look at your sister. "You're right. I'll lead." He states. He walks to the front of the group and then he looks back to stare at you. You half smile at him and give him a small nod. He smiles back and then quietly leads the group up deck.

---

     James, Elizabeth, and you help the crew members of the Empress across the ropes while still aboard the Flying Dutchman. "Okay, Elizabeth, you're next." You say.

     She looks at you, frowning. "But what about you?" She asks.

      "I'll be right behind you, don't worry." You reply, smiling at her.

     She smiles back and grabs the rope. She looks back at James. "Thank you." She says, before starting to climb across the rope.

      James and you watch her as she makes her to the Empress. "Why did you do it?" You ask suddenly, breaking the silence. You look at him. "Why did you join our enemies? Did you know they killed my father?" You ask in a whisper, your voice cracking.

      "Y/N, no. I had no idea. I had no part in your father's death, I swear." James insists, putting his hands on your upper arms. "Please, Y/N, you have to believe me. I didn't know." He whispers truthfully, his eyes searching yours.

     You swallow and nod. "I believe you." You answer.

     "Y/N, I am sorry. I am so sorry for all the pain I have caused you." He chokes out as tears fill his eyes. "I was a coward, I see that now. I couldn't face you after I resigned. I-I could barely face you in Tortuga. I saw the way you looked at me. I will never, ever get that image out of my head. You looked at me so pityingly and with disgust—a look I never wanted to see on your face when you looked at me." He says. Tears pool in your eyes. "I broke your heart and I'm sorry. I never-I never wanted to cause you pain and that's exactly what I inflicted on you. I loved you, Y/N." He continues. He gently cups your face as one tear falls from his eye. "I-I still love you." He whispers.

     "Oh, James." You sigh, closing your eyes, making tears slide down your cheeks. "I love you too." You whisper. You open your eyes and, through your tears, you see him smiling at you, a steady stream of tears going down his cheeks. "I didn't want it to be so. I didn't want to go through the pain again—I still don't. But seeing you again, I'm willing to take the risk of getting hurt again. I can't imagine you not in my life. I love you, James Norrington. And I always will." You say.

     James kisses you soundly on the lips. You put one hand on his neck and the other on his shoulder, kissing him back.

     "Hey! What's going on down there?" A voice calls. You rip apart from James, your heart pounding. You glance up and see Bootstrap Bill.

     "Y/N, go." James whispers to you.

    "James-" You start to say.

     "Go!" He commands.

     You grab the rope and glance at the Elizabeth who's nearly at the Empress. Bootstrap Bill starts to walk from the top deck to where James and you are. "James, come with me. Please." You beg.

     He looks at you. "I'll be right behind you." He says, hesitating.

     "You're lying." You claim, your eyebrows drawing.

     "There are prisoners escaping!" Bootstrap Bill starts screaming.

      "Y/N, go!" James exclaims.

     "James, I can't leave you!" You cry.

     He looks at you pleadingly. "And I cannot lose you." He whispers, his eyes shining with tears.

     "Y/N!" You hear Elizabeth screaming. You look her way. She's on the Empress. You swallow and then, with lightning speed, you wrench James's sword out of its hilt and then severe the rope.

     "No! Y/N, no!" Elizabeth screams as the rope falls into the water.

     James looks at you, his jaw dropped. "What have you done?!" He yells incredulously, in horror.

     You jump down from the edge of the boat and stand beside James. "I'm not leaving the man I love behind to face the wrath that should have been ours." You tell him, lifting your chin defiantly.

     "Y/N, you just gave yourself a death sentence. You should have followed your sister!" He says.

     "No! What do you think you're doing anyways?" You ask.

      "I need to redeem myself." He whispers, not meeting your eyes.

      You grab his face and make him look at you. "In my eyes, you've already redeemed yourself." You whisper as more shouts sound throughout the Flying Dutchman.

     You look around for a way to escape. "Over the side." You say.

     James stares at you. "What?" He asks.

     You grab his arm. "Over the side. Now." You command. You look both ways to make sure no one watching and then you climb over the side of ship. You just hang there, your feet dangling over the water, until James is next to you.

      "Jump." You whisper, staring at him. He nods and the both of you let go. You plunge beneath the salty waters. You stay underwater for a little bit and then swim upward.

     "Y/N!" James gasps, flailing. You swim over to him. His hat and white powdered wig are off. He grabs your hand when you near and then pulls you into his arms. You both look at the Flying Dutchman where most of Davy Jones's men are at the edge of the ship. Davy Jones breaks through his crew and, seeing that you escaped, he lets out a frustrated yell.

      James and you swim to the Empress. Elizabeth throws a rope down the side of the ship, making James and you climb aboard. Once you reach the deck, you collapse on your back, breathing hard.

     "Y/N!" Elizabeth exclaims, rushing over to you.

     "I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine. I just need to breathe." You pant, waving her away. James climbs up beside you and then lays on his back next to you, catching his breath. Elizabeth orders the crew to get as far away from the Flying Dutchman as possible.

     You turn your head to look at James and find him already staring at you. "What?" You ask, smiling.

     He smiles that I'm-so-in-love smile at you. "Nothing." He whispers, lifting his hand to pick up a strand of your wet hair. He gently runs his fingers down it, wringing out the water droplets. You move closer to him and put your hand on his waist. He turns his body to you and props himself up on his elbow. His hand slides through your wet hair and then cradles the back of your head. He lowers his mouth to yours and kisses you softly. You sigh and kiss him back. He deepens the kiss, pulling you closer to him.

      When someone clears their throat, James and you end the kiss. He glances behind you and you turn your head to look where he's looking. Elizabeth is standing there, her arms crossed. Your eyes widen.

     "Uhhhhh..." You stammer. She holds up her hand, stopping you. "There's no need to explain yourself, Y/N. I understand." She says softly, smiling.

     You smile back at her and then look at James. He grabs your hand and kisses it. He entwines his fingers with yours. "I love you." He whispers.

     "I love you." You return, smiling happily.
[THE END] I hope you liked it!