Chapter 20:  Cruelty's New Name

 

Admiral Norrington watched Lord Beckett head below deck alone.  After a moment’s hesitation, Norrington decided to find Robin, fearing that she may perhaps be hurt.  After all, her fiancé had apparently attempted to rape her before.  And with all aboard the Flying Dutchman loyal to Lord Beckett, or at least under his control, Robin would have no one to turn to except Norrington.

Norrington halted in his tracks, momentarily confused by this concept.  He was the only one Robin could turn to…and, when he thought about it, she was the only one he could turn to.  They were each other’s only allies now.  Strange, seeing as they had been at each other’s throats merely a few days ago…although their bickering had ended in a peculiar fashion…

Peeking around a corner, Norrington saw Robin heading toward him, roughly rubbing tears from her cheeks.  When Robin caught sight of him, she turned and made to head back to wherever she had come from.  “Wait, Robin.”  Norrington strode quickly to her and grabbed her arm.  She gave a small cry, as though in pain, causing Norrington to quickly let go.  The bastard he thought, believing that Beckett must have manhandled her.  “Are you all right?” he asked, scanning Robin’s body for signs of abuse.

“I’m fine,” she said shortly, and she moved past him, trying to walk away again, but Norrington followed.  She stopped after a few steps.  “What are you doing?”

“Walking with you,” Norrington replied, offering her his arm.

Robin looked at it and made the smallest of motions that indicated that she was going to accept it.  But then she glanced behind Norrington, folder her arms across her chest, and began walking again.

Norrington turned to see what Robin had been looking at, but saw nothing and no one of interest.  He looked back at Robin curiously, keeping pace alongside her.  “What happened, Robin?  Did he hurt you?”  Robin vigorously shook her head, refusing to look at him.  “You’re lying.”

Robin stopped and looked up at him.  Her eyes were still glistening with tears as her gazed dropped to the ground.  “Not physically,” she said under her breath.

Norrington knew how manipulative Beckett could be, and how cruel.  “What did he tell you?”  Robin said nothing.  “Did he threaten you?”  Robin bit her lip and continued walking.  “Robin.”  He stepped in front of her.  “Robin, please.”

“What?” Robin asked sharply.

Norrington flinched.  The coldness in her voice as she said that one word clearly revealed what her conversation with Beckett had included.  “If Lord Beckett disapproves of our relationship, it doesn’t…”

“What relationship?” she said quietly.  “We worked together a little.  That’s all.  Any other relationship was over years ago.”

Norrington was so stunned by this that Robin managed to pass by him without any resistance.  Once he regained his composure, he followed her again.  “Robin…”  His voice came out much more pained than he had intended.

Robin stopped and looked back at him, her eyes shining with tears that she refused to let fall.  Norrington walked up next to her again, taking her by the arm.  This time she did not protest, but she averted her eyes and refused to look at him.  They were strangely quiet as they walked.  But nothing seemed appropriate, nor did Robin appear to be willing to talk about anything at the moment, so the two were content to walk in silence.  However, upon nearing the back of the ship, Norrington suddenly slowed to a halt.  Robin nearly pulled her arm away as she took a step further than him.  “Jam—Admiral?”

Norrington was slightly hurt when she avoided saying his name, but he was currently more distressed about something else.  Norrington was not sure how to explain the sudden feeling of dread that was building up inside of him.  That is, he was not sure of how to tell Robin.  He knew quite well why he was hesitant to continue.  The couple was merely half a dozen paces away from where Norrington had died.

“Let’s turn around,” he suggested.  Norrington tried to turn, but Robin merely slipped her arm from his and remained where she was standing.

“Why?”

Norrington hesitated.  “Because,” he said quietly.

“As if that’s a reason,” Robin said with a small smile, walking toward the very spot where Norrington had died.  She suddenly slowed and put her hands on the railing before her.  She was standing exactly where he had fallen.  Robin stood in silence, staring out onto the sea as one hand ran lightly over part of the wooden railing.  “You died here,” Robin said quietly.  She turned back to look at him.  “Didn’t you?”

Norrington’s mouth fell open.  He walked up beside her, and a shiver shot up his spine.  “Yes.”  Robin was gazing out onto the sea again.  “How do you know that?”  Robin did not look at him.  “Robin?”

“Lord Beckett wants to see ya, miss,” a familiar voice said from behind the couple.  Norrington turned to look at the speaker, quickly putting himself between the man and Robin as he recognized the man’s face.  Though the body was no longer covered in barnacles and coral, Norrington knew who it was.  In response to Norrington’s reaction, the man asked, “Do I know you?”

“You ought to.”  Robin turned to face the man, taking a few steps so she was now standing between Norrington and the sailor.  “You killed him.”  Norrington moved his eyes from his killer to Robin.  How could she possibly know that?

“I know you.”  The man was no longer looking at Norrington, but at Robin.  “What are you doing aboard the Dutchman?”

“I don’t believe that is any of your business, Bootstrap,” Robin said coldly.  “You may tell Lord Beckett that I do not wish to see him.  If he wants to take that up with me, he can come talk to me himself.”

“I don’t think he’ll like hearing that,” Bootstrap said.

“I don’t doubt it.”  Robin glanced at Norrington and bit her lip, seeming to reconsider.  “Never mind, don’t tell him that.  I’ll be there in a minute.”

“Robin,” Norrington said worriedly, gently placing a hand on her shoulder.  He was now greatly concerned for her safety, and even more concerned that she was now behaving rather submissively.  He knew that Beckett must have threatened her severely to cause this dramatic change in her persona.

Robin glanced above them, almost as to the heavens.  “Tell him I will be there in a few minutes,” Robin said quietly.

Bootstrap nodded and turned to leave.  “As you wish, Miss Sparrow.”

Robin’s body tensed at these words as a shock rippled through Norrington and his mouth dropped open.  He stared at Robin incredulously.  “Miss Sparrow?” he repeated.  “Miss Sparrow?”

Robin flinched as she turned to look at him, failing greatly in her attempt to appear innocent.  “Did I fail to mention that I was also telling the truth about living aboard my father’s ship?”  She giggled nervously when Norrington said nothing.  “As you said before, it wasn’t all a lie.”

“Your father is…Jack Sparrow?” Norrington said through his shock.  “As in the pirate?”

“Are you really that surprised?” Robin asked, appearing to be sincerely curious.

Norrington took a deep breath.  It was true that Robin had long black hair that could be seen as resembling Jack’s.  She also had a similar drunken swagger whenever she had a bottle of rum in her hand…she was most certainly cunning, as was Jack…but Norrington still could not believe it.  “Yes.  I am that surprised.”  Norrington thought for a moment, and then the horrible realization struck him.  “You tried to get your own father marooned."

“Note how well that turned out; we ended up there too,” Robin said quietly.

“When I found you…on that island…”

“Captain Barbossa had seen fit to maroon me,” Robin said.  “For saving young Mr. Turner, actually.”

Norrington’s brow furrowed.  “But I found you years after Mr. Turner’s rescue.”

“Ragetti is not the best at keeping secrets.”  She apparently believed that this was all the explanation needed.

“Captain Sparrow was marooned before you…you did not stand up for him?”

“And be sent to the Locker?” Robin exclaimed.  “No, thanks.  Besides, it was part of the agreement that—.”  Robin’s mouth snapped shut.

“You were part of the mutiny,” Norrington breathed.  Robin winced, convincing Norrington that he was correct.  “You aided in what should have resulted in your father’s death.”

“He was in the way,” she said quietly, refusing to look at Norrington again.

“You’re not sorry, are you?” Norrington said in horror.  Robin was silent.  “You don’t even regret what you did.”  Robin turned to him, glancing over his shoulder before biting her lip and remaining silent.  Norrington threw a glance behind him, but saw no one.  He took a small step back from Robin.  “You don’t regret anything…you don’t even really regret what you did to me, do you?”  His voice shook as he took another step back.  Robin’s eyes were filling with tears, but she still said nothing.  Damn it, say something! Norrington thought desperately.  “It was a lie.  Everything.  Again!”  Norrington felt tears of both anger and sadness coming to his eyes.  “And I fell for it…again…”

Robin opened her mouth, but closed it again as she looked up.  Norrington turned to leave, but then he paused and looked back.  “You know, you and Beckett are a perfect match.”  A tear rolled down Norrington’s cheek.  “You are both completely heartless…you don’t care who you hurt as long as it gets you what you want.”  Norrington was taken aback when a single tear made its way down Robin’s face.  After a brief moment of hesitation, Norrington said, “Crying won’t help.  I’ve seen you cry before.  It’s just as much a lie as everything else.”

Norrington spun on his heel and walked away as quickly as he could, his heart feeling completely decimated.  “You and Miss Sparrow are the perfect couple.  Good luck to you,” he said coldly as he passed by Lord Beckett, who seemed to be heading to where Norrington had just left Robin.  Without waiting for a response, Norrington stormed to his room, slammed the door, and sat down on the bed—the bed Robin had slept in the night before.

He put his head in his hands and tried to stop crying, but hot tears continued to spill down his cheeks as he felt his heart being painfully torn apart.  Cruelty, which he had once associated with Lord Beckett, now had a new name to him—Robin Sparrow.