Norribeth Drabble

[dwgm]

This is in reply to the current challenge at Black Pearl Sails ('Tremor'), and also for hereswith, who wanted some tense and romantic Norrington/Elizabeth. This one lacks tension, being a sequel to Seconds, but she says she doesn't mind that this is...


...pure romance. ;)



~ Delicious Repast ~

They stayed abed all that day, until early evening when they elected to dress for dinner. It was served to them in a secluded alcove of the rain-washed garden of the inn. Crystal, china, and linens were all of the best, and there were several delectable courses, though Elizabeth, languorously sated, had little appetite. James seemed concerned by this. His bride, amused, basked in his coddling and care.

When she had eaten enough to assuage his fears, he said, "That's better. You must keep up your strength."

"James!" she objected. "Am I some delicate, milk-and-water miss?"

He considered this, most thoughtfully, and a surprisingly wicked little smile touched his lips. "No. I wouldn't say that."

Fleeting glimpses of the night and day just past came to mind. It had all been of a most satisfactory nature, and yet a tremor of renewed desire now shook her to the core.

She felt herself coloring, and sat up abruptly, very straight, and then colored more at the tender mementos of their encounters. She said, faintly, "I… I find myself somewhat fatigued, actually. Shall we retire, again?"

He got up, and she stood as he came round the table to her, and she could not help giving a soft sound of relief as he took her in his arms and kissed her.


~.~

Comments

[honorat.livejournal.com]

Yay, for pure romance! What a couple of hedonists! I love James "wicked little smile." Lucky Elizabeth. A beautiful and delectible drabble.

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

What better time to be a hedonist than on one's honeymoon? Lucky Liz, indeed! I'm so happy you enjoyed it. Thanks so much for the quick feedback!

Oooh, I am just bouncing in anticipation of the comments when you post that new chapter of Crossing the Bar!!!! Will edit as soon as I get home tonight. Too, too good!

[erinya.livejournal.com]

Crossing the Bar is getting updated? Hooray!

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

OMG, it's brilliant! Brilliant, I tell you!

[erinya.livejournal.com]

Delicious indeed! I am becoming more and more a James/Liz shipper...especially when you write it so beautifully. I second honorat in appreciating that wicked little smile of James'.

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the lovely comments! I hope we'll be seeing some of James' wicked little smiles in the next movie -- can't wait to see it, in fact. Come on, July!!

[kaellana.livejournal.com]

A lovely little drabble. It finished wonderfully and felt very complete, unlike some drabbles where you get the sense it's just a snapshot.

This and Seconds are totally converting me to a Norribeth shipper, you know.

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

So glad to have swayed you in that direction -- I do feel they could have made a go of it, if Will hadn't been in the picture. Thank you for the lovely comments!

[hereswith.livejournal.com]

Oh, no, I certainly don't mind, not when this is so wonderful :-) Many thanks, dear!

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

You're so welcome! I'm very pleased you enjoyed it, and liked that other, angstier one I did, as well. They are an interesting pair, aren't they?

[hereswith.livejournal.com]

Very interesting! But then again, I'm a complete and utter pushover for unrequited love, always rooting for the person left behind, in this case, James. So, to see them end up together warms my heart :-) And, of course, there's that whole thing with pent-up emotions being unleashed. I like that too...

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

Thank you! We all need some pure romance occasionally.

And on that note, I'm glad you're feeling better!

[felaine.livejournal.com]

Lovely and romantic; they deserve a private time before returning to Port Royal and reality.

I always feel badly that Will has to b killed off to make this pairing work, but he does, or it feels artificial. You write them so well, with a happy ending for James, who deserves it.
Felaine

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

I feel bad about it too, but what can one do? Will and Elizabeth's romance is integral to the PotC plot. They'd each die for the other, if it was necessary.

Glad you enjoyed this! Thank you for commenting. :)

[bagira.livejournal.com]

Oh, this was so lovely! So short, though! Ah! Any chance for more?

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

Hee! Cute icon. There may be more in this plotline in the future. Glad you enjoyed this one. Thank you so much for commenting!

[bagira.livejournal.com]

Please make there be more this plotline in the future! I love norribeth fanfiction, but there is so little of it! :((((

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

I've been writing quite a bit of it lately, actually -- my Secret Santa fic was N/E (True Heart), and I know there were a couple of other SS stories at Black Pearl Sails featuring that pairing. I'll let you know when I've posted them to Black Pearl Tales, our group's archive.

[elessil.livejournal.com]

Wheee! Very sweet and tender. And insatiable ;)

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

Yes, the insatiable is what I was going for. So happy you enjoyed it!

[torn-eledhwen.livejournal.com]

Awwww. Gorgeous. And yay for Elizabeth, being assertive about her needs. :)

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

We need those "Awwww" moments, occasionally. Glad you enjoyed this one. And I think Elizabeth would be the assertive type, don't you? Thanks so much for commenting!

[hendercats.livejournal.com]

I think you write wonderful Jack/Elizabeth, but this ... oh, my. Your N/E has such a lovely, delicate quality to it, sweet spring air and rainbows after a storm perhaps. Beautiful!

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

You're alive! I hope things are going well for you. We've missed you! Have you been doing any writing? Or is RL too much right now?

I'm very happy you liked this. The tone is different, but seemed appropriate for James. Lucky Elizabeth!

[hendercats.livejournal.com]

Have missed you all very much. Yes, RL has been a pain lately: death of mother-in-law, two nassssty colds, daughter (high school senior) having a severe case of I-don't-want-to-grow-up and systematically screwing up in the areas in which she excels. Oh yeah, and husband abruptly deciding to retire at the end of this month. *sigh*

Have done very little writing (but am polishing a couple little things), mostly because when I was sick, I didn't even want to sit at the computer, so spent the last month reading all six of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander books.

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

Good Heavens, you have been having a hard time. So sorry to hear of your mother-in-law's death. Were you close? My mother-in-law is terminally ill, too, now. I guess we're just at that age. *sigh*

Glad you are finally feeling up to computing a little, but I know how it is when you're that sick. The Outlander series is a great escape though, isn't it? I adored the first four books, and I'll get around to reading the fifth and sixth one of these days.

Those daughters! But seniors do that stuff -- senioritis is a common affliction. And husband retiring?? Wow. O.O A lot of very heavy RL stuff, indeed. My sympathies. Take good care of yourself.

:::hugs:::

[hendercats.livejournal.com]

Had been fairly close with my mother-in-law, but she had some form of dementia and we'd been losing her by inches for several years. I hate to say it was a blessing, but we'd gotten to the point that she didn't know who we were, just that we were people who knew her and cared about her (at least she still knew that much!), and she'd been saying for the past two years that she was ready.

Husband's decision to retire is a bit scary financially (though he keeps saying the numbers are okay). And then there's the fact that he's going to be around all the time - I thought, ack, when will I write? Told him if the numbers were so good, he could buy me a laptop as a retirement present.

Noticed something when reading the Outlander books (perhaps it was easier to notice since I was re-reading the first five), while Ms. Gabaldon is a wonderful storyteller, I kept mentally editing things (like using the same word several times within a paragraph or two).

Time to stop spamming your journal and get back to playing catch-up at BPS. :)

[geekmama.livejournal.com]

And then there's the fact that he's going to be around all the time - I thought, ack, when will I write?

Exactly! He'd better buy you that laptop, and I hope he's understanding about giving you time, which is even more important. Does he have big plans of his own? Actually, maybe he'll start taking care of things around the house for you -- that's what my Dad did when he retired and my Mom was still working full time. Of course, he still found time for several rounds of golf a week, etc.

[hendercats.livejournal.com]

*begs pardon - should have begun last response with many thanks for the very appreciated hugs* (bad pirate - no cookie!)

Update: he DID get me the laptop, and then after I checked it out to make sure everything worked correctly, he said he couldn't take it away to make me wait for my birthday! Wheee!! (now I just have to get that wireless network set up so I get internet access)

I hope he's understanding about giving you time, which is even more important.
Yes, I'm rather concerned about the time/space thing, especially since he is very big on togetherness. Can just see it -
me: *clackety, clackety, clackety* (madly responding to the current week's BPS challenge)
him: what are you madly typing?
me: .... (well, that's the problem, isn't it, since like several others we know, nobody in my RL knows about my writing, or fanfiction, or any of this! *sigh* will have to come up with some sort of answer)