Allo!

Standard Disclaimer: I don't own Pirates of the Caribbean or any of the characters.

Also, I have no idea if the blacksmith's name is actually Brown or not; I just made it up. I know they prob. Say it once during the movie but I wasn't paying enough attention.

Anyways, hope ya like.

And if you have a problem understanding the 'drunken speech', let me know and I'll repost it with regular words (even if it does spoil the effect).

Please read and review!

Changing Life

Tlak, tlak, tlak! The wheels of the cart sped faster as the driver's whip cracked and the horses sped up. Three men sat within the carriage, along with two sleeping children.

"Well, what new sir?" Captain Norrington looked quizzically at his superior.

"Honestly? I have no idea." Governor Swann was watching his daughter unhappily. She had taken to the boy very quickly and he seemed to have taken to her. Hmmm… the governor mused, a single survivor of a doomed ship. If I didn't know better, I would think the pirates anted him alive! How else could one little boy survive the terrors of a pirate attack? And, in the few minutes he had been awake, he hadn't seemed scared or surprised, hadn't even cried! In fact, he had…

"SIR!"

"What!" Swann jerked back to reality with an irritable glare at a very confused Norrington.

"Beggin' yore pardons messirs, but wot am oi doin' 'ere, sirs?" Both men turned to stare distastefully at the third resident of their carriage.

"You are here because you were the only craft master left without an apprentice." Norrington wrinkled his nose in disgust as the man's unwashed stench of cheap booze washed over him. He couldn't help but wonder to himself if the carriage would ever smell the same again. Doubtful.

"Whoi thankee , sah! But oi'm naought but an 'umble blacksmith; why, my master (in moi youth o'course) said I never 'ad, and never would 'ave the," (at this point he screwed up his drunken face as he tried to remember something his drugged brain could barely comprehend), "a-bi-itly…"

"Ability?" the governor's voice was muffled through his kerchief as he attempted to shut out the stench. He instantly regretted it as the inept blacksmith turned towards him rather then Norrington.

"tha's th' vury word; yer awful smart sirrah." He was grinning drunkenly, exposed badly decomposed teeth and ripening the smell even more with his breath.

"Um, thank you. I believe you were saying something to our esteemed Mr. Norrington?"

Norrington, who had been mentally thanking the governor, blinked at him, flabbergasted. He didn't remain distracted long, though. Mr. Brown was a hard man to ignore, if only because of the air of stupidity he carried around.

"righ', righ'! Loik oi was sayin', my ould master, 'e said oi didn't have the ABI-LI-Ty," (he winked hugely at a thouroughly disgusted governor), "to ever really become a real blacksmither. Uh, blacksmith. Yesh. But now oi'm the one talkin' ta prac-ital royalty whoil 'e's sleepin' ten feet under in Davy Jones's locker!"

He threw back his head and roared with rough, raucous laughter at his own joke. The governor glanced, bewildered, at the disgusted captain.

"What's he laughing at?"

"I think it was supposed to be a joke."

"Oh. How….odd."

"Heheheh…heh huh heh huh…"

The overweight blacksmith had finally shut up for a few seconds. (He wasn't able to breathe after laughing and putting a 'strain' on his body) His pause gave the captain time to jump in.

"Yes, that is so. You're old master must have been a smart man." (The blacksmith just sat staring stupidly, completely oblivious to the insult), "anyways, the reason we asked you to join as at the docks and go on this ride with us is an issue that must be dealt with right away."

Governor Swann leapt in, panicked, as the smith opened his mouth to speak again.

"Now, sir blacksmith, we would like to ask you a favor, one which we can only ask of you as you are ht only man properly…'equipped'…,"

"….or non-equipped." Muttered Norrington.

"to deal with it." Swann glanced reproachfully at the usually so proper captain. Then turned to the blacksmith expectantly.

"Ummm.., a'righ' zur, oi'm sure 'e did."

Norrington rolled his eyes "he said he wants you to do something"

"Oh?"

The governor stared at him, startled by his extreme stupidity.

"In that case, oi'd surely b' great a' wotever et is!"

He lurched to his feet and took a big breath to start speaking just as Norrington jumped forward to keep him from that exact action. Unfortunately, Brown lost his footing before he made it all the way up and fell heavily against the side of the carriage at the exact time that Norrington landed a few inches away. The carriage lurched and skidded slightly, forcing all of them to hang on as it re-stabilized.

THUD

"Hm?" the governor turned to find a very confused looking young boy getting up from the floor and pulling himself up on the seat he had fallen off of.

Brown glanced at the boy; he hadn't even noticed that there were kids there and Norrington was in almost the same state. He had completely forgotten about them, even though one of them was supposed to be the topic of this whole conversation. A satisfied smile appeared on his face. Finally! He'd be able to finish this and get rid of both the odious blacksmith and the little flotsam brat.

"As I was saying," all three pairs of eyes turned towards him (Elizabeth still hadn't woken up).

"We want you to do something."

"yeh, and messir gov'ner…"

Norrington held up his hand to silence the confused smith.

"What we want you to do is take on an apprentice, an orphan found at sea. This boy."

His hand grabbed the back of the child's shirt and dragged him to his feet for examination.

Mr. Brown blinked in surprise. Will stared up at the man holding him by the nape of the neck in confusion, as time seemed to stop. Little did any of them know that such a simple request would shape and alter the very fabric of young Will's life.

FIN.

Hope ya liked it! Please read and review.