I posted a chapter of this story on here about two years ago. It is being rewritten.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Summary: Governor Swann thought that Elizabeth would loose interest in Will once she saw how little he made as a blacksmith. When Elizabeth doesn't change her mind, Governor Swann orders Elizabeth to marry Commodore Norrington, but Will and Elizabeth have other plans.

Italics- thoughts


Prologue:

The Black Pearl

Elizabeth sighed looking out at the water from a small cabin just below the deck of the Black Pearl. There was no wind. They had been drifting for almost three days. All she could hope was that the wind in Port Royal was just as non-existent so Commodore Norrington and her father wouldn't catch up with them.

How could my own father do this to me? I'm his child. He is supposed to want me to be happy. Why can't he just let me be happy with Will? I love him, and Will loves me. My father knows that I could never love James Norrington. Why does he have to be so stubborn? Is it because Will doesn't have any money. Well, he should know that I don't care about that. I hope he knows that he forced this and I chose Will. I would always choose Will. I'll never go back to Port Royal!

Will came up and wrapped his arms around his wife's waist. Elizabeth relaxed into his arms feeling safer and suddenly very tired.

"Come, you really need to sleep." Will told her. Elizabeth hadn't slept for more than an hour or two at a time since they left Port Royal ten days ago.

"Will, what if they catch up? I don't want to go back." Both husband and wife knew what would happen if they were brought back to Port Royal. Will would be hanged for piracy and Elizabeth would be forced to marry Norrington.

"I won't let you go back. We're safe. No one saw us leave and I can protect you if anything happens. From the way you fought at Isla de Muerta, I think you could defend yourself as well." He said smiling fondly at the memory.

Elizabeth turned around in Will's arms so she was facing him. "Would you teach me to swordfight?" She asked with a smile.

"Do you really want to learn?" Will asked, slightly surprised. She nodded. "Alright. I'll give you lessons, but not right now. You need a good night of sleep first. Come. Let's go to sleep."

Elizabeth agreed and climbed into the hammock that served as her and Will's bed. It had become a game, getting onto the hammock every night. Whenever one would try to get on, the other would very often tip over and fall off. Two nights before, Will and Elizabeth had finally found a strategy that worked about 50 of the time. However, the success rate usually plummeted as time went on.

It took them nearly twenty minutes that night. They wrapped their arms around each other; Elizabeth's arms circling Wills neck while he wrapped his arms around her waist.

Elizabeth heard Will's breathing even out. She thought about the man who's fate she had intertwined her own with. The two had married in the middle of the night in the local chapel. It had just been the two of them, the minister, Elizabeth's servant Eliza, and a teenaged boy named Matthew that who had just started as an apprentice at the blacksmith's shop.

Will and Elizabeth had never figured out how, but Governor Swann had learned of the wedding and threatened Will. That was when Elizabeth decided that it was time to leave.

Part of Elizabeth regretted having to leave her father behind. Still, when she looked at her sleeping husband, she knew that she had done the right thing for herself and for Will. She was happy with Will, and she knew she never could be with Norrington. If only you understood father…

The Governor's Mansion

Governor Swan had hoped that his daughter's 'love' for Mr. Turner was only an infatuation. He couldn't see how Elizabeth could truly love Will. He had allowed Elizabeth to be around Will's shop, hoping that she would see how little money he had in comparison with Norrington.

The governor wasn't about to allow his daughter to marry a blacksmith. He hoped that she would give up on Will so he didn't have to drag Elizabeth down the isle at her wedding to James Norrington. She might not be able to see it, but the governor knew that James was a much more suitable match for his daughter.

About a month previous, Will had asked for the governor's blessing to marry Elizabeth and he refused to give it.

Then he found that the two had gone behind his back and gotten married anyway.

Mr. Swann had threatened to have Will hanged for piracy if his daughter didn't have her marriage annulled. He knew had her cornered. If she loved him, she would save his life.

Unfortunately, Elizabeth had come up with an alternative. When he went to his daughter for her decision a week later, he found that she and her 'husband' had disappeared. He had found a note that read:


You asked me to choose between Will's life and my happiness. I found a better way and I choose to have both. Farewell.

Misses Elizabeth Turner


He would get that girl for disobeying him. Elizabeth was his daughter and she would listen to HIM and she would learn to do as told.

The Fort

Governor Swann had wanted to set out some time ago to catch Elizabeth and William Turner, but the winds were gone and it would make no sense to set out without it.

Commodore Norrington wasn't sure of what he wanted. He knew that he wanted to marry Elizabeth, but he wanted her to marry him because she was in love with him. He didn't want to have his heart rejected. He knew that Elizabeth would never love him, with or without Turner. Elizabeth just wasn't meant for him.

The Commodore knew how Elizabeth and Will had gotten away. He watched them in fact. One night the Black Pearl had come for them. He knew that he and Elizabeth would never be and he knew what was to happen to Turner, so he let them go. He didn't want innocent blood on his hands.

The Governor had given Elizabeth a week to think, so they were long gone when he finally found that Elizabeth had disappeared.

Once the wind came back, the governor wanted to sail immediately.

James Norrington still held a soft spot in his heart for Elizabeth, even if she didn't do the same for him, so he pretended to be angry to appease the Governor. He had seen that they had headed east, so Norrington sat with the Governor suggesting that they head south, claiming that a black ship with black sails had been spotted to the southwest. The governor, who was too angry with the couple to see that Norrington was misleading him, agreed.

Good luck Elizabeth and William. Norrington thought. Maybe we shall all meet again.