⠀ in 𝑡𝘩𝑎𝑡 case —— allow elizabeth to 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 the playing field. has he a drink or two to spare, perhaps .ᐣ ⠀

⠀ elizabeth will gladly take what they can get. it won’t take much for them to catch up, anyhow. ⠀

⠀ 𝑒𝑥𝑐𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑡 .ᐟ it’s decided, then. elizabeth wastes no time seizing a bottle from james & taking a long swig. ⠀

⠀ rolling their eyes, muttering. “ bloody 𝑝𝑖𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑠 … “ ⠀

⠀ 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘴, massaging their temples. elizabeth is awake — but with a 𝑚𝑖𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑒, of course. ⠀

⠀ elizabeth briefly looks the man up & down, brows furrowing. “ … i’ll 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑟 it. besides — haven’t you had enough already .ᐣ “ another swig. ⠀

⠀ elizabeth stares at james, long & hard. the man before them is different from the one they knew in port royal. changed — but not 𝘶𝘯𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘳. “ … in 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 case — “ they offer their bottle to james, brow raised. ⠀

⠀ elizabeth chuckles in turn, resisting the urge to roll their eyes at his display. “ … you’re a good man, james. “ they nudge him with their elbow. “ i hope you haven’t 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 that. “ ⠀

⠀ “ ah, but you are, “ they respond firmly. elizabeth snatches the bottle from his hands and takes another sip. “ this little performance of your’s changes nothing, i’m afraid. i know who you 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 are, james norrington. “ ⠀

⠀ ⠀